Energy Systems Transformations and Clean Energy for Industry and Agriculture the JISEA/CEMAC Annual Meeting

April 22, 2019 — Out-of-towners got a taste of Colorado’s unpredictable winter weather when they visited the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in mid-March for the Joint Institute for Energy Analysis/Clean Energy Manufacturing Analysis Center (JISEA/CEMAC) annual meeting. Approximately 85 attendees braved the snowy conditions for two days to interact with a global panel of experts.

Woman presents at the front of a room.

March 14, 2019 — Jill Engel-Cox, gives a welcome to attendees of the 2019 JISEA Annual Meeting at NREL in Golden, Colorado. (NREL/Werner Slocum)

CEMAC’s director, Debbie Sandor, welcomed the guests with highlights and accomplishments from the past year. The meeting explored the metrics for understanding the global manufacturing of energy technologies, as well as how to improve materials flow within the supply chain and the lifecycle of products important to the development of energy technologies.

Amy Haddon from Schneider Electric presented on the corporate adoption of approaches to the circular economy of materials as a successful (and award-winning) business model. CEMAC will be well-positioned to expand into a wider range of project on topics such as the circular economy and clean power for manufacturing as it continues to integrate with JISEA. A snowy walking tour of NREL’s Research Support Facility concluded the CEMAC portion of the meeting.

Four people giving a panel discussion.

March 13, 2019 — A lively discussion on the Global manufacturing: Measuring the value of international trade and supply chains panel. (NREL/Werner Slocum)

In the afternoon, JISEA director, Jill Engel-Cox, set the stage for Energy Systems Transformation. She introduced a panel of leading international power system transformation policy experts. Griff Thompson, Director of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at the U.S. Department of State; Leonardo Beltran, Member of the Board of Sustainable Energy for All in Mexico; and Tim Finnigan, Director of the Energy Business CSIRO in Australia discussed topics such as global manufacturing of energy technologies, among others. Hollie Velasquez Horvath from Xcel Energy took time away from the power utility’s ongoing snowstorm response to speak with JISEA’s Jeff Logan about Xcel’s planned transition to clean energy sources.

A woman stands in front of multiple people to present.

March 14, 2019 — Joan MacNaughton, of the E.U., The Climate Group, delivers the keynote address during the 2019 JISEA Annual Meeting. (NREL/Werner Slocum)

The second day of meetings explored new approaches and technologies to provide low-carbon heat and power to industry, while improving water resources and food production. Eric Jacobsen of Extraction Oil and Gas gave a compelling talk on innovations in the oil and gas industry to reduce both emissions and costs. Bob Pilko of Blade Energy Partners explained how the use of geothermal energy can eliminate emissions while providing baseload power for industry.

Joan MacNaughton of the E.U., The Climate Group delivered an engaging keynote address on the policy and technology innovations necessary to tackle the climate challenge. The two-day meeting wrapped up with a series of topic tables and an optional tour of the National Wind Technology Center.

View the annual meeting presentations here: