The Clean Energy Innovation Academy (CEIA) is an ongoing educational series focused on conservative clean energy technology and policy. In 2020, this series consisted of seven educational briefings with industry experts and university partners on technologies including advanced nuclear, storage, hydropower, natural gas, carbon capture and geothermal. Certification was awarded to 13 individuals, who completed four or more sessions. The Academy was hosted by ClearPath and the Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI). Stay tuned for details on 2021 programming.

 

 

 

CEIA 2020 Programming

 

Moderators:

Rich Powell

Rachel Kriegsman

Jeremy Harrell

Grid 101: From Electron to Your Outlet - August 11, 2020

Presentations From:

Jud Virden

Associate Laboratory Director for the Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)

Carl Imhoff

Manager, Electricity Market Sector at Battelle, PNNL

Description:

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) joined us to examine the power grid of today and how it will look in the future to deliver reliable, sustainable and affordable electricity.

Carbon Capture: A Path to Net-Zero is Charted by American Innovators - September 1, 2020

Presentations From:

John Northington

Director, National Carbon Capture Center, Southern Company

Jennifer Atcheson

Vice President, Operations, ION Clean Energy

Description:

There are many exciting types of carbon capture, and the future is bright thanks to the 45Q tax credit. Jennifer Atcheson with ION Clean Energy, a Colorado company working on an exciting iteration on carbon capture technology highlighted their work; and John Northington, director of the country’s leading carbon capture test center, joined us for an outlook on the future of this technology.

Energy Storage: Getting Beyond Lithium Ion - September 15, 2020

Presentations From:

Joe Zhou

Chief Executive Officer, Quidnet Energy

Venkat Srinivasan

Director, Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science (ACCESS), and Deputy Director, Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR)

Description:

This 60-minute conversation touched on how close we really are to grid scale energy, storage current R&D focus areas and opportunities like the Energy Storage Grand Challenge or the Energy Storage Launchpad, and exciting private sector storage breakthroughs.

Hydropower: The Flexible, Baseload, Forgotten Renewable - October 13, 2020

Presentations From:

Paul Jacob

Chief Executive Officer, Rye Development

Allison Johnson

Program Analyst, Water Power Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

Description:

This 60-minute conversation touched on the environmental impacts of hydropower and new development opportunities within the United States. Although the large-scale development opportunities in the mold of Grand Coulee and the Hoover Dam are tapped out in the United States, modern applications will leverage existing infrastructure and provide valuable grid services.

Natural Gas: How the U.S. Reduced CO2 Emissions in the Last Decade - October 22, 2020

Presentations From:

Randy Bell

Director, Global Energy Center, Atlantic Council

Brian Gutknecht

Head of Marketing, GE Gas Power

Description:

Natural gas has delivered the majority of greenhouse gas reductions in the U.S. power sector over the past decade. This 60-minute conversation touched on the potential of natural gas to deliver even more emissions reductions in the economy of the future, from cleaner production methods to new applications that can dramatically reduce carbon emissions.

Nuclear: Clear the Path for Advanced Nuclear Energy - October 27, 2020

Presentations From:

Ashley Finan

Director of the National Reactor Innovation Center, Idaho National Laboratory

Jason Herbert

Director, Government Affairs, Energy Northwest

Jeff Merrifield

Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Description:

This 60-minute conversation touched on what utilities need to deploy advanced nuclear energy to meet their decarbonization goals with support from the National Labs, access to financing, continued regulatory modernization, and opportunities for international collaboration.

Geothermal: Heat from the Ground Up - November 12, 2020

Presentations From:

Tim Latimer

CEO, Fervo Energy

Elisabet Metcalfe

Physical Scientist in the Geothermal Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy

Jamie C. Beard

Executive Director, Geothermal Entrepreneurship Organization (GEO), Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

Description:

This 60-minute conversation touched on how geothermal energy fits into a clean energy future within the United States, particularly research and development opportunities through the Department of Energy, the various types of technologies that exist, how oil and gas intersects with geothermal, and updates on current exciting projects that are underway.