Category Archives: NEWIEE

Meeting CT’s New Carbon-Free Power Goals: What’s the Role for Peaker Plants?

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Join the Connecticut Power and Energy Society (CPES) and New England Women in Energy and the Environment (NEWIEE) for our eighth annual event on Thursday, September 22! This panel discussion will surround peaker plants and their role as Connecticut works towards a carbon-free future. 

Peaker plants serve a unique role in our current grid by providing key reliability services. However, many peakers emit pollutants at a higher rate than baseload plants. The majority are located in communities with a higher percentage of low-income households, and peakers disproportionately impact communities of color. As Connecticut acts on its commitment to a decarbonized energy future, what are our alternatives for filling the role currently played by fossil peakers? What are the business, policy, infrastructure, market and equity pieces that need to fall into place to make this transition? Our panelists are all regional leaders who have been actively tackling these questions.

  • Tracy Babbidge, Chief of the Bureau of Air Management at the CT DEEP
  • Alicia Barton, Chief Executive Officer at FirstLight Power
  • Sharon Lewis, Executive Director at the CT Coalition on Environmental & Economic Justice
  • Katherine Rougeux, Business Development Manager at the New York Power Authority
  • Anne George, VP of External Affairs at ISO New England and former Connecticut DPUC Commissioner (Moderator)

Tapping into the Power of Offshore Wind

CPES and NEWIEE Annual Joint Event |  9.11.19  | 5:30 PM – 11:30 PM  |  REGISTER

 

Join CPES and NEWIEE for our annual joint event on September 11th (Wednesday) from 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM for a discussion on offshore wind. The meeting will be held at the historic G. Fox Building in downtown Hartford.

Moderated by Beth Barton, Day Pitney, LLP

Panelists Include:

  • Lauren Savidge, Director of Energy Supply,
    Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 
  • Mandy Tornabene, Vice President, Environmental Services
    Dominion Energy 
  • Elisabeth-Anne Treseder, Lead Policy Advisor
    Orsted North America 
  • Tanya Bodell, Executive Director
    Energyzt

Bios:

Elizabeth “Beth” Barton’s more than 25 years of experience in environmental and land use litigation, permitting and consultation, encompasses involvement at the federal, state and local levels, including for clients involved in manufacturing, energy, real estate, project development and restructuring. She assists a diverse array of clients with resource planning and compliance, project implementation, environmental considerations in transactions, Brownfields’ repurposing, environmental investigation and remediation, and cost recovery and contribution litigation. Beth provides legal services in support of innovative development projects, including large Brownfield restoration projects in Connecticut, such as the Brass Mill Center in Waterbury; smaller urban initiatives, such as the Learning Corridor in Hartford and the Blue Back Square development in West Hartford.

Beth writes and speaks often on land use and environmental topics. She has appeared in The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, Law360, Connecticut Law Tribune, Bloomberg BNA, Brownfield Renewal and New England Real Estate Journal. She is also very actively involved in leadership positions in her field and the community. Most recently, Beth served on the Connecticut Water Planning Council Steering Committee for development of the State Water Plan.

Lauren Savidge is the Director of the Office of Energy Supply within the Bureau of Energy and Technology Policy of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environment Protection and is responsible for conducting clean and renewable energy procurements and other policy initiatives in the electric power sector. Prior to her current role, Lauren was a Staff Attorney advising the Energy Bureau at DEEP. Lauren received a J.D. and a Masters in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School and a B.A. in Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross.

Amanda B. “Mandy” Tornabene is vice president–Environmental Services.
She is responsible for employees and contractors engaged in providing environmental support for Dominion Energy. This includes permitting and regulatory support and the development and implementation of training, guidance and procedures to ensure compliance with federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations.

Tornabene joined Dominion Energy in 2008 as a senior counsel. She was promoted to director–Gas Environmental Services in 2014 and director– Environmental Services (Air and Gas Infrastructure Group) in 2016. She assumed her current post in March 2017. She previously was an associate at Hunton & Williams.

She serves on the boards of the Virginia Repertory Theater and Blue Sky Fund.
Tornabene received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Randolph-Macon College and her J.D. from the University of Richmond’s T.C. Williams School of Law.

Elisabeth Treseder is the Lead Policy Advisor for Ørsted’s North American business. Elisabeth advocates for federal and state policies that support the emerging offshore wind market in North America. Prior to joining Ørsted, Beth worked for the American Petroleum Institute managing infrastructure policy. She holds a Master’s Degree in International Energy and Business from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a Bachelor’s Degree from Duke University.

Tanya Bodell is the Executive Director of Energyzt. For nearly 25 years, Ms. Bodell has provided business advice and expert support to energy clients, informing their decisions on corporate strategy, investment opportunities, market conditions, asset valuation, mergers/acquisitions, restructuring, regulatory outreach and market analysis. Ms. Bodell interacts extensively with executives and senior management, adding value through development of business strategy, expert insights, and transaction support. Ms. Bodell also has significant experience in issues in which hundreds of millions of dollars are at risk, often serving as the industry expert in cases being arbitrated, mediated, litigated, and heard before regulatory agencies, courts of law and arbitration panels. She regularly writes articles on industry topics and is a regular columnist for Pennwell Publications’ Electric Light & Power, offering bi-monthly insights on economic, policy and business dynamics impacting energy markets.

Making Sense of Integrating Markets and Public Policy in New England (IMAPP): CPES / NEWIEE Joint Meeting

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“Making Sense of IMAPP”
Integrating Markets and Public Policy in New England:

Sponsored by: Eversource, HQUS, Starion Energy, Robinson+Cole, DCO Energy, Globelé Energy, LLC
  

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CPES and NEWIEE Host Joint Meeting on Integrating Markets and Public Policy (IMAPP) in New England

On September 13, 2017, the Connecticut Power and Energy Society (CPES) and New England Women in Energy and the Environment (NEWIEE) hosted a joint meeting in Hartford, Connecticut on an important regional topic—the integration of the region’s wholesale electricity markets with the public policy goals of the New England states. The meeting marked the third collaboration between CPES and NEWIEE, reflecting the organizations’ respective commitments to create opportunities to share information about hot topics in energy, while recognizing women who work in the industry. The panel discussion featured state and regional experts on energy, including Allison DiGrande, Director of NEPOOL Relations for ISO New England, Michelle Gardner, Director of Regulatory Affairs – Northeast for NextEra Energy Resources, and Elin Katz, Consumer Counsel for the State of Connecticut. Flossie Davis, Partner at Day Pitney LLP, moderated the panel and provided background on the stakeholder discussions launched by NEPOOL to consider potential market rule changes to integrate markets and public policy in New England.      

Allison DiGrande set the stage for the discussion, explaining how state polices promoting the procurement of clean energy resources are impacting the region’s wholesale electricity markets. She explained the proposal the ISO has put forward to accommodate the states’ public policy goals in the near term—called Competitive Auctions with Sponsored Policy Resources—involving enhancements to the region’s Forward Capacity Market. She noted that the ISO’s proposal is intended to integrate the states’ sponsored policy resources into the Forward Capacity Market over time while preserving competitively based capacity pricing for other resources in New England to ensure resource adequacy. She stated that the ISO is currently working with stakeholders on design details and plans to file its proposal with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) by the end of the year for review and approval.

Michelle Gardner discussed a longer-term proposal offered by NextEra Energy, Conservation Law Foundation, and Brookfield Renewable aimed at achieving the states’ public policy goals through the wholesale electricity markets. She laid out the general framework for a proposed Forward Clean Energy Market intended to procure the clean energy attributes of resources needed to fulfill the states’ long-term greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals. She explained that the design proposal is intended to not only attract new clean energy resources but also retain existing clean energy resources to cost-effectively reduce GHG emissions in New England. She also described the proposal’s location-specific payments to focus incentives to develop new clean energy resources where they will displace the most CO2 emissions.

Elin Katz voiced her support for a solution that accommodates the states’ public policy goals, expressing concern over the willingness and ability of the six New England states to gain consensus over one set of public policy goals to achieve through the markets. She explained to attendees that the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel is an active and voting member of the End-User Sector of NEPOOL, which gives consumer interests a voice in stakeholder discussions. She also touched on the issue of Millstone Nuclear Power Station and how the debate over the plant’s future is indicative of the challenges associated with coming to agreement over matters of state policy.

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Panel Description:
Since last August, market participants, policymakers, and other stakeholders have been discussing potential market rule changes to integrate the region’s wholesale electricity markets with the public policy goals of the New England states. Through that process, ISO New England has offered a conceptual approach to accommodate state policies in the near term, involving enhancements to the Forward Capacity Market. The region’s stakeholders are exploring several other concepts as well, including longer-term solutions aimed at achieving the states’ public policy goals, not simply accommodating them. How did we get here? How are consumers represented in these discussions? 

Location:
Day Pitney LLP, 242 Trumbull Street, Hartford, CT 06103

Program:

  • 5:30: Registration and networking reception
  • 6:15: Welcoming remarks by NEWIEE and CPES Board Members
    • Elizabeth C. Barton, NEWIEE President and Partner, Day Pitney LLC
    • Joey Lee Miranda, CPES President and Partner, Robinson+Cole
  • 6:30: Panel discussion: Making Sense of IMAPP: Integrating Markets and Public Policy in New England
  • 7:30: Conclusion