Leo Casey

Power Architecture Lead Engineer at Google-X, Google

Presentation: Holy Grails in a Public Grid? Or Tipping All the Way to Fracture?

Abstract: Cost effective Storage has long been hailed as the Holy Grail of the Grid, even prior to Renewables and Distributed Generation. Today it could be the element that makes the grid obsolete, or at least the larger grids. We will discuss high levels of integration of intermittent DG, the value of storage in controlling these assets, other key technical tools, and finally discuss some visions of the future. A high capacity factor, economically competitive wind turbine being developed by Google will serve to illustrate some of the key points.

About Dr. Casey: Dr. Leo Casey is the Power Architecture Lead Engineer at Google-X on the Makani wind turbine project. Prior to that, he was Satcon’s Chief Technology Officer and EVP of Engineering for 12 years.

He has over 30 years of experience in power electronics and power engineering, including ultimate responsibility for the design and commercialization of numerous utility scale power conversion products such as Inverters, Solid State Switches, Converters, and Flywheels, with a focus on the management and integration of alternative, renewable and distributed resources.  He has served on NREL’s solar advisory board and the NIST/DOE Hi-MW Leadership Committee; been an editor of the IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion; and is active in IEEE and NEC code and standard development for Grid Electronics.

Dr. Casey has published over 75 papers related to power conversion and Grid Power Electronics, and made many presentations at industry workshops and conferences.

Xiaoming Feng

Corporate Research Fellow, ABB

Presentation: Engineering the Grid of the Future

Abstract: What power grid technology do we need to face the challenges of the future?  What grid architecture and actuation technologies are needed to ensure secure, resilient, economical and sustainable power supply?

About Dr. Feng: Dr. Feng holds a B.S. and Ph. D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering, from Xian Jiaotong University and Ohio University, respectively, with emphasis on electrical and energy system automation. His work experience in the power industry includes software development, product management, consulting, and research. He is currently ABB Corporate Research Fellow.  His research focuses on electricity market, power system monitoring and estimation, system control and optimization.

Brian Fortenbery

Program Manager, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

Presentation: System Reliability vs. Efficiency: Are We Being Redundant?

About Mr. Fortenbery: Brian Fortenbery has been with EPRI for 15 years and currently serves as program manager for Energy Efficiency in Power Electronics. Current major research topics include design improvements in power supplies for consumer electronics and data centers, with emphasis on development of metrics and standards. A significant part of this research involves field demonstrations of emerging technologies in power distribution and efficiency improvement systems.

Mr. Fortenbery has also served as Senior Associate Engineer at Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant. He holds a B.S.E.E. and a M.S.E.E. from the University of Tennessee.

Steve Whitley

President & CEO, New York Independent System Operator (NYISO)

Presentation: Smarter Grid / Sharper Vision; Enhancing System Awareness with Advanced Technology

Abstract: This presentation will review the efforts of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) to integrate advanced smart grid technology in its new state-of-the-art control center, the capabilities of which enhance system awareness and address an array of emerging challenges for the electric system.

About Mr. Whitley: Stephen G. Whitley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), is a veteran of the energy industry with extensive experience in bulk power system planning and operations. He joined the NYISO in July 2008.

Before coming to the NYISO, Mr. Whitley served for seven years as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ISO New England (ISO-NE).  Prior to his tenure at ISO-NE, he completed a 30-year career with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) where he last served as General Manager, Electric System Operations.

In 2009, he was selected to chair the Executive Committee of the Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative (EIPC).  He is also a member of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Power Delivery Executive Committee, the NERC Member Representatives Committee, and has served as a member of the Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC) Board of Directors, the Executive Committee of CIGRE (International Council on Large Electric Systems) U.S. National Committee.

Mr. Whitley is also a retired Colonel in the U. S. Army Reserve and the former commanding officer of the 3397th Garrison Support Unit, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He retired after a distinguished 30-year career, which included active duty in Operation Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University prior to beginning his electricity industry career with the TVA.