Dynamic New Energy Lecture Series Continues Feb. 17

Created: February 16, 2016  |  Last Updated: October 19, 2021  |  Category:   |  Tagged: ,

WASHINGTON, PA (February 16, 2016)—The third session of four-part lecture series the Grid Academy from Washington & Jefferson College’s (W&J) Center for Energy Policy and Management (CEPM) will take place on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.

The third session, entitled “Managing Uncertainty: The New Economics of the Power Industry,” will continue the Grid Academy’s discussion of how to adapt electric grid systems to adjust to the changing demands, technologies, business models, and threats in an expanding society.

The lecture will be in Yost Auditorium of the Howard J. Burnett Center on the W&J campus, and is free and open to the public. Registration is not required, but it is recommended. See the CEPM website to register.

Mainly, the discussion will explore options for how to fund a new business model and the many different challenges of these options, such as who will invest in a new grid system and how to incentivize investors.

Speaking at the lecture is Gregory F. Reed, Ph.D., Professor at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering and Director of the Center for Energy and of the Electrical Power Initiative. Joining Reed is Dianne D. Anderson, former Executive Director at the Great Lakes Institute for Energy Innovation at Case Western Reserve University, and Maria Hanley, Energy Industry Analyst in the Office of Electric Reliability at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Reed, Anderson, and Hanley will continue the previous lecture topics of the grid system while also bringing to light a new issue of developing a new business model: funding. The speakers will discuss various issues with the U.S. power industry’s current business model and emphasize why the industry is in need of a new business model.

“The beauty of these lectures is that they lay out all of these issues in straightforward way,” said CEPM Director Diana Stares. “A lot of decisions need to be made on all levels, including how to fund research, and it is necessary for people to understand why this is important.”

The Grid Academy was created by the National Academy of Engineering’s Science & Engineering Ambassadors Program in partnership with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. All sessions have been organized by a leadership team from the National Academies of Science and Engineering Ambassadors Program, University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and will feature researchers and industry professionals from the universities, the power industry, and NETL.

For more information, visit the W&J Center for Energy Policy and Management website.

About Washington & Jefferson College

Washington & Jefferson College, located in Washington, Pa., is a selective liberal arts college founded in 1781. Committed to providing each of its students with the highest-quality undergraduate education available, W&J offers a traditional arts and sciences curriculum emphasizing interdisciplinary study and independent study work. For more information about W&J, visit washjeff.dev, or call 888-W-AND-JAY.

Are you ready to Be A President? Apply to W&J now.