Once every two years a group of renewable energy experts assembles to share knowledge, discuss new technologies, and just have some fun. The 4th International Conference on Integration and Distributed Energy Resources will be held on Dec. 6-10 at the Hyatt Regency in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The conference is hosted by EPRI, Sandia National Laboratories, the U.S. Department of Energy, Natural Resources Canada, and Public Service Co. of New Mexico (PNM). New Mexico is a perfect place to discuss renewables with more than 300 days of sunshine a year and the Eastern plains with untold gigawatts of untapped wind resources.
There will be presentations from utilities such as Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA), DERlab, and Japan’s New Energy Development Organization (NEDO). The event will focus on the technical, market, and regulatory issues that challenge the integration of renewable energy and distributed energy resources into the transmission and distribution grid.
Subject matter experts will share their experience and lessons learned from cutting-edge integration projects, and will compare different policies and programs on a global scale. The program aims to provide valuable insights into potential solutions for barriers to high penetration renewable energy and distributed resources. Our electricity industry with participants from around the world is well-represented in the conference, including utilities and system operators.
“This diversity will provide a broad perspective of the challenges and future directions,” said Abraham Ellis of Sandia National Laboratories, who spent eight years in PNM’s transmission planning and operations Department and is the chairman of the Scientific Committee.
“At its core, the conference will investigate methods and techniques for applying the electric grid to obtain the full value of distributed energy resources such as PV, electric vehicles, storage and demand response. It will provide an unparalleled forum for North American, European, and Asian practitioners to share experiences and research findings in a highly focused and interactive environment.”
The event will also comprise pre- and post-conference workshops, tutorials, and tours, as well as a poster session that will emphasize new methods, unique research findings, and reports of actual deployment experience.
The conference sponsors want to remind the participants they can also take advantage of the unique culture of New Mexico. Santa Fe is less than an hour drive away. Its museums and galleries invite the traveler to relax and absorb traditions and customers of the area. Taos is also an hour’s drive to the north.
