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Conference

2020 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings VIRTUAL

August 17 - 21, 2020
#SummerStudy20
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    Efficiency: The Core of a Clean Energy Future

    For the first time, we offered a virtual 2020 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. We planned to host this 21st biennial event in our usual, beloved location  the gorgeous grounds of the Asilomar State Beach near Monterey with a reception at the Aquarium. (We will return to both in 2022!) The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the switch to a virtual event. 

    Attendees were able to attend from the safety and comfort of their homes and registered at less than half the in-person fee. All registered attendees have exclusive access to online presentations and more than 430 papers on cutting-edge research. Only registered attendees will be able to view these resources at their convenience for at least the next six months, giving them an event that lives on.

    Our theme for the 2020 Summer Study was “Efficiency: The Core of a Clean Energy Future.” We chose this theme in recognition of the rapidly evolving ecosystem of the energy industry. From resilience to health, from distributed energy resources to renewables to grid integration and virtual batteries, energy efficiency remains critical to our success. Whatever the surrounding goals for expansion of clean energy systems and services, the ability to design and operate efficient buildings is an essential foundational requirement.

    This year we were especially excited for the continuation of our Energy Efficiency and Equity panel. Low-income communities and communities of color stand to benefit from energy efficiency upgrades, healthier housing, and local job creation; yet they have not typically received explicit attention as stakeholders. This panel focuses on efforts to reach historically under-served households with energy efficiency investments.

    Click here to view a list of organizations that participated in SSB's 2020 conference.

    Program

    We've put together a diverse program with plenaries,13 interactive sessions,15 informal sessions, and plenty of networking opportunities at half the in-person rate.

    Download the SSB Program
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    View the flyer for more information on becoming a sponsor.

    Sponsorship Opportunities

    Sponsors

    Plenary Session

    Tuesday, August 18

    Efficiency Now More than Ever

    Discussion about the urgency of addressing climate change and environmental justice, including the critical contributions that energy efficiency can make.

    Gina McCarthy

    Natural Resources Defense Council
    President and CEO (and former EPA Administrator)

    Gina McCarthy became the president and chief executive officer of NRDC in January 2020, leading more than 700 attorneys, scientists, advocates, and policy experts. McCarthy has been a leading advocate for smart, successful strategies to protect public health and the environment for more than 30 years.

    McCarthy served as the 13th administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation under President Obama. Her leadership led to significant federal, state, and local actions on critical issues related to the environment, economy, energy, and transportation. She led initiatives that cut air pollution, protected water resources, strengthened chemical safety, and reduced greenhouse gases to protect more communities from negative health impacts. McCarthy signed the Clean Power Plan, which set the first national standards for reducing carbon emissions from existing power plants.

    At the state level, McCarthy served as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, deputy secretary of the Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth Development, and undersecretary of policy for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. In Connecticut, she was instrumental in developing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state effort to reduce emissions contributing to global warming, which has spurred economic growth, improved public health, decreased energy demand, and helped mitigate electricity price increases across the region.

    At the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, McCarthy was a professor of the practice of public health in the Department of Environmental Health and currently chair of the board of advisors at the Harvard Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE). She also serves as a member of the boards of the Energy Foundation and Ceres.

    McCarthy holds a master's degree in environmental health engineering and planning and policy from Tufts University and a bachelor's in social anthropology from University of Massachusetts at Boston.

    Plenary Session

    Wednesday, August 19

    Efficiency: The Core of a Clean Energy Future

    A panel discussion about links between energy efficiency and other important issues such as climate change, grid costs, economic burdens and environmental justice.

    Cecil Corbin-Mark

    WE ACT for Environmental Justice
    Deputy Director/Director of Policy Initiatives

    Cecil Corbin-Mark is WE ACT for Environmental Justice’s (WE ACT) Deputy Director and Director of Policy Initiatives. He holds a BA from Hunter College in Political Science and a M. Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University in England. Prior to joining WE ACT, Cecil worked for the following: the Bronx County District Attorney, NYS Justice Hon. W. T. Martin, the Mellon Minority Scholars Program and the NY Public Library.

    Cecil is a father, a pilot and lives in the Hamilton Heights section of West Harlem in NYC, his family’s home for almost 90 years.

    Plenary Session

    Wednesday, August 19

    Efficiency: The Core of a Clean Energy Future

    A panel discussion about links between energy efficiency and other important issues such as climate change, grid costs, economic burdens and environmental justice.

    Leia Guccione

    Rocky Mountain Institute
    Managing Director

    Leia Guccione is the Managing Director for RMI’s Electricity Program, where she leads RMI’s research and collaboration efforts to support the rapid transition to a low-carbon electricity system to support a secure, prosperous, and equitable US economy.

    Since 2012, Leia has directed RMI’s research exploring the potential for distributed generation, distributed energy resources, and distributed battery technologies to disrupt utility business models and other aspects of the US electricity system—and advanced the development of targeted solutions for these innovations. Additionally, she’s led client engagements assisting leading utilities, public utility commissions, large corporations, states, and cities to develop evolved business models and policies.

    Before joining RMI, Leia served in the US Navy as a nuclear-trained Surface Warfare Officer and continues to serve in the US Navy Reserves. She has an MS, Sustainable Development, University of London and a BS, Mechanical Engineering and Political Science, Iowa State University. She is a Professional Engineer, licensed in the State of Colorado.

    Plenary Session

    Wednesday, August 19

    Efficiency: The Core of a Clean Energy Future

    A panel discussion about links between energy efficiency and other important issues such as climate change, grid costs, economic burdens and environmental justice.

    Paul Hibbard

    Analysis Group
    Principa
    l

    Paul Hibbard is a Principal at Analysis Group, a Boston-based economic and financial consulting firm.  Paul is a former Chairman of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, and has held positions in both energy and environmental regulatory agencies in Massachusetts.  Paul has also served on the New England States' Committee on Electricity, the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board, and the Executive Committee of the Eastern Interconnect States' Planning Council.  In private practice, Paul provides technical, economic and policy analysis and strategic advice to public and private sector participants in the natural gas and electric industries. 

    Paul holds a B.S. in Physics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and an M.S. in Energy and Resources from the University of California at Berkeley.

    Plenary Session

    Thursday, August 20

    Advancing Energy Efficiency in Today’s Challenging Times

    This panel of speakers (federal, state and local perspectives) discussed what they are doing to advance energy efficiency, and how we can help them, despite current challenges such as COVID-19, a fragile economy and other pressing issues that compete for attention.

    Paul Tonko

    U.S. Representative (D-NY)
    Chair of the Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

    Congressman Paul D. Tonko is a sixth-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing New York’s 20th Congressional District in the Capital Region, including the cities of Albany, Schenectady, Troy, Saratoga Springs, and his hometown of Amsterdam.

    Tonko is a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and chairs the Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, where he oversees a wide range of issues including clean drinking water, regulation of toxic substances and national climate action. For the 116th Congress, he joined the Committee on Natural Resources and continues to serve on the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, where he advocates for scientific integrity and public research.

    In addition to his committee duties, Tonko co-chairs the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition. He is also a longtime honorary advisor of the Alliance to Save Energy, a bipartisan, nonprofit coalition that promotes energy efficiency across all sectors of the global economy.

    Prior to serving in Congress, Tonko was the president and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Before that, he served in the New York State Assembly for 25 years, 15 of which he was chair of the Committee on Energy. At the age of 26, he was the youngest person in the history of Montgomery County to be elected to the county’s Board of Supervisors, which he chaired until 1981.

    Tonko graduated from Clarkson University with a degree in mechanical and industrial engineering and is a former engineer for the New York State Public Service Commission. He is a lifelong resident of Amsterdam, New York.

    Plenary Session

    Thursday, August 20

    Advancing Energy Efficiency in Today’s Challenging Times

    This panel of speakers (federal, state and local perspectives) discussed what they are doing to advance energy efficiency, and how we can help them, despite current challenges such as COVID-19, a fragile economy and other pressing issues that compete for attention.

    Vicki Hackett

    Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
    Deputy Commissioner

    As Deputy Commissioner, Vicki is leading DEEP's Energy Branch as Connecticut transitions to a zero carbon electric grid. Her responsibilities include developing Connecticut's Integrated Resources Plan and Comprehensive Energy Strategy, overseeing procurements of clean energy resources, and developing policies and programs in the areas of energy affordability, energy efficiency, and strategic electrification of the transportation and housing sectors to help Connecticut achieve its greenhouse gas reduction goals.

    As the Director of Adjudications at the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, Vicki oversaw the legal work of the agency and acted as general counsel to the Commissioners on matters including utility rate cases, mergers and acquisitions, regional and federal matters, and grid modernization.

    As an attorney at the CT Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC), Vicki gained significant experience in utility finance and rate design, integrated resources planning, energy efficiency policy and program review, utility infrastructure planning, and consumer issues related to retail electric supply.  Vicki was a litigation attorney in private practice for four years prior to joining the OCC.

    Vicki earned her law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and her B.A. in Sociology/Anthropology from Western Connecticut State University.

    Plenary Session

    Thursday, August 20

    Advancing Energy Efficiency in Today’s Challenging Times

    This panel of speakers (federal, state and local perspectives) discussed what they are doing to advance energy efficiency, and how we can help them, despite current challenges such as COVID-19, a fragile economy and other pressing issues that compete for attention.

    Kim Havey

    City of Minneapolis
    Sustainability Director

    Kim Havey is the Director of the Division of Sustainability for the City of Minneapolis. In this role he is responsible for the development of policy in support of the city’s Climate Action Plan, a 100% renewable electricity community wide goal, the first in the nation Clean Energy Partnership, sustainable building policy, green zones and elevating racial environmental justice programs and policies that increased health and wealth in low income communities of color. 

    Kim joined the City of Minneapolis after working at the Minnesota Department of Commerce where he led the development and implementation of solar policies and incentive programs that supported more than 4,000 new solar installations resulting in 60 MWs of distributed solar.  He also managed the communications team of the Minnesota State Energy Office.

    Prior to that he co-founded Sustology, a sustainability consulting and clean energy development firm.  Kim acted as Chief Financial Officers and led its clean energy portfolio for nine years developing more than 10 MWs of solar energy throughout the state.

    Kim earned a BBA in Real Estate and Finance from the University of WI - Madison and a Master of Urban Planning from the University of MN – Humphrey Institute.  He is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is a US Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP). 

    Program
    (as of 7/13/2020) To download a copy of this schedule-at-a-glance, click on the image

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Informal Sessions
    2020 SEM Summit (virtual)

    Monday, August 17, 2020 12:30 - 4:30 ET.

    Hosted by the North American Strategic Energy Management (SEM) Collaborative, the 2020 virtual SEM Summit provided a unique opportunity to explore how SEM is contributing to commercial and institutional markets across North America. This event offered live presentations, cutting-edge research, and special breakout sessions on topics like cost-effectiveness and M&V.

    More information about the Summit and sponsorship can be found under the Events tab at NASEMC.org

    2020 Co-Chairs
    ssb-cochairs.jpg
    Champions of Energy Efficiency in Buildings

    The ACEEE Board of Directors’ Awards Committee selected winners from nominees who have demonstrated impact, influence, initiative, innovation, and leadership in the following categories based on the submitted nomination materials:

    • Research and Development (R&D): Excellence in baseline or background research as well as R&D of products and practices.
    • Implementation and Deployment: Effective design and implementation of programs or projects that save significant energy.
    • Energy Policy: Excellence in energy policy that supports or promotes efficiency at the federal, state, or local level.
    • Young Professional: Excellence and leadership in any of the above categories for nominees who are 35 (as of 8/16/2020) or younger.

    The Champions join a select group of efficiency leaders recognized by ACEEE for their extraordinary contributions and leadership at the annual Summer Study conferences. Learn more about the 2020 winners here

    Linda Latham Scholarship

    The scholarship was established in memory of Linda Latham who served as ACEEE’s Chief Operating Officer until her untimely death in September 2011. Linda, who helped found the US government’s ENERGY STAR® program, believed that students bring talent and creativity to the field of energy efficiency especially if we provide a venue to inspire and educate them.

    The “Latham Scholars” chosen for 2020 had the opportunity to be exposed to new ideas and to interact with energy efficiency experts from around the world. In turn, Summer Study attendees were able to meet these exceptional students virtually—a reciprocal opportunity for all!

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