Alberta Power Symposium

Opening Remarks from the Conference Co-Chairs

Sharleen Gatcha
Founder & CEO
Women + Power

Breanne Fox
Director, Commercial Management & Carbon Technologies
Capital Power

PANEL

The Renewable Electricity Act – Achieving Emissions and Renewable Electricity Targets by 2030

Matthew Davis
Director, Regulatory
Capital Power

• Addressing questions over how to achieve the 30% target by 2030 set in the Renewable Electricity Act
• Assessing Alberta’s Renewable Electricity Act within the context of the Federal Net-Zero Emissions Act and plans to move to a net-zero economy by 2050, including constraints, limitations, and long-term system-level planning
• Views on electrification and meeting potential demand growth
• What are the expected future changes to the market?

AUDIENCE POLLING

Energy Only Market: Unpacking Real World Practical Applications and Clarifications for Operators

Miranda Keating Erickson
Vice President, Markets
Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO)

Delegates will be invited to benchmark with speakers and participants during live anonymous interactive polling.

• Reviewing federal policies on emissions, project development, project approvals and what follows for Alberta
• Evaluating uncertain demand and the short-and-long term effects of revenue volatility during COVID-19
• Highlighting Market Related Initiatives currently underway at AESO
• Clarification on market power and market power mitigation
• Evaluating changes to the price floor/ceiling and shortage pricing
• Assessing current regulatory challenges

Keynote Address – Reducing Emissions and Developing Affordable Energy

Dale Nally
Associate Minister of Natural Gas and Electricity
Government of Alberta

Initiatives to reduce emissions, create jobs, and develop affordable energy in Alberta

1:1 Networking

Make new connections, face-to-face. Troubleshoot top pain points and share breakthrough strategies using an interactive virtual feature that will introduce you to fellow industry leaders for a quick conversation.

Lunch Break

RECENT ANNOUNCEMENTS ON CORPORATE PPA'S

Part 1: How Corporate PPA’s are Driving Economic Growth – Exploring Pricing Advantages and Disadvantages in the Renewable Energy Sector

Rebecca Nadel
Director
Business Renewables Centre Canada

Evan Wilson
Senior Director, Western Canada
Canadian Renewable Energy Association

Under a corporate renewable PPA, a company or institution agrees to purchase electricity directly from a green energy generator. Power generated on the site feeds back into the grid, offsetting the amount of electricity consumed by that company.

• Exploring recent power purchase agreements with corporate buyers and the role that ESG has played in these decisions
• Opportunities for these electricity projects to contribute to decarbonizing the grid and provide developers with greater financial certainty
• Path to net zero – role of corporate PPA’s to achieve renewable goals
• Exploring how Alberta can maintain its advantage in corporate PPA’s; what are the opportunities in other provinces?

RECENT ANNOUNCEMENTS ON CORPORATE PPA'S

PART 2: Case Study Deep Dive: How Amazon, Labatt, Capital Power and other Major Players are Structuring their Corporate PPA & Responding to the Renewable Electricity Act

Grant Arnold
CEO
BluEarth Renewables

Ryan Laverty
Manager Energy Origination and Development
TC Energy

A close look at corporate deals in renewable energy power projects and what this means for Alberta’s power sector, contribution to the economy, job creation and decarbonizing the grid.

• Assessing renewable energy cost competitiveness with other sources like natural gas
• What is the impact on customers and shareholders?
• Update on commercial operations, timelines, construction
• Update on the BluEarth Renewables Hand Hills Wind Project and their PPA with Shell
• The latest on TC Energy’s role in the Claresholm solar farm

Meet & Greet with the Speakers Open Session and Break

Enjoy a unique face-to-face virtual meet and greet with some of the speakers you’ll be hearing from during the conference. This is your chance to gain exclusive access to the expert faculty and get to know one another in a more casual format. Delegates are encouraged to turn on their camera as this session will not be recorded.

Roundtable

Protecting Canada’s Electricity Infrastructure Against Cyber Threats

In light of recent cyber attacks on pipeline infrastructure in the US, this session will focus on Canada’s cyber security improvements and plans for protecting energy infrastructure.

Case Study

How to Structure an Indigenous Energy Partnership Project and Best Practices for Engagement

Jason Schulz
Executive Director, Strategic Advisory Services
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN)
President
ACFN Green Energy

Rob Macintosh
Advisor- Green Energy and Sustainable Business Development
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN)
Senior Partner
Greenplanet Energy Analytics

Walk through a practical case study to illustrate the mechanisms of a new renewable energy partnership, how this is a least-cost option for Alberta consumers, lowers the carbon footprint, and provides benefits to the community including:

• Skills development
• Job growth
• Reduction of fossil fuels

Assessing Your Company’s Global Footprint: How ESG is Changing the Dynamics of Power Finance

• How are energy companies addressing the issue of net-zero emissions to further their climate targets and ESG?
• Examining the increased focus on ESG in the energy sector; is this an enduring trend? How has the pandemic been a factor?
• How can government help to align policy to allow investment?
• Exploring how to secure investments amid uncertainty
• What is the role of transition finance to attract capital?

Closing Remarks and Day One Adjourns

Opening Remarks from the Conference Co-Chairs

Keynote Session – Federal Funding for Energy Projects and a Green Recovery

TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENTS

Part 1: Developing Energy Storage Solutions as the Key to Renewables

• The latest on energy storage and dispatchable renewables as the province transitions towards 30 per cent renewables by 2030, and if they are needed, how they should be procured
• Integration of energy storage into the AB market (impacts on consumers and competition)
• Where we are and lessons learned from other jurisdictions
• Overall implications of growing DER (distributed energy resources) technologies connecting to the distribution grid and how distribution utilities will need to look at how the two-way flows of power will affect planning, modelling etc.
• Highlights from TransAlta’s WindCharger utility scale lithium ion battery storage (Pincher Creek)

TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENTS

Part 2: The Role of Hydrogen in a Net Zero Economy – Creating a Hydrogen Power Hub in Alberta

Dr. David Layzell
Energy Systems Architect
The Transition Accelerator

• The role of hydrogen in a net-zero economy and plans for new hydrogen technologies
• Recent plans for Canada’s first hydrogen hub in Edmonton and funding to develop a local hydrogen economy; timeline and next steps
• Exploring how to best produce and sell hydrogen
• Highlights from the Suncor – ATCO partnership for world-scale clean hydrogen project Alberta to produce 300,000 tons clean hydrogen, capture the emissions, refine, process, and produce steam for electricity

Break

Focused Session for Technology Expert

Strategies and techniques for clean energy deployment.

LIVE AUDIENCE OPEN DISCUSSION FORUM

Women in the Power Sector

Sharleen Gatcha
Founder & CEO
Women + Power

Join delegates and speakers for an open discussion and Q & A session. Delegates will have the opportunity to turn on their camera as this session will not be recorded. Themes to be discussed:

• Boosting female workforce momentum in the power sector
• Developing strategic alliances to get noticed and hired
• Managing and capitalizing on generational diversity
• Assessing the training requirements for the electricity sector

Break

TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENTS

Part 3: Carbon Conversion Solutions in Transforming Emissions

Renee Hjorth
Commercial Manager, Commercial Management, Canada West
Capital Power

• Commercial application of carbon conversion technologies to enable near-zero emissions from natural gas generation
• How will the federal tax credit for capital invested in Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) projects work?
• Highlights from Capital Power’s Genesse Carbon Conversion Centre, Shell’s Quest facility and Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL) pipeline
• How can emissions capture be funded through storage or selling carbon for commercial use like cement?

TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENTS

Part 4: Exploring Small Modular Nuclear as a Viable Part of the Supply Mix

Joseph McBrearty
President and CEO
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories

• Assessing the potential for the development of small modular reactors as part of the power generation supply mix
• How are SMR’s (less than 300MW) competitive with other low-carbon forms of energy?
• What is the potential for SMR’s in on-grid, off-grid communities, and in oilsands and mining?

Break

AUDIENCE POLLING

Demand Side Management and How the Evolution of Distribution Systems will Disrupt Distribution with the Rise of Distributed Generation, EVs and Smart Grid Technologies

Jeanie Chin
Supervising Engineer, HVDC & FACTS
ATCO

Aïda Nciri
Manager, Policy & Research
QUEST

Jesse Row
Executive Director
Alberta Energy Efficiency Alliance

A look at how distribution systems will change over the next several decades given rapid technology changes that are expected – in particular with distributed generation, EVs and smart grid technologies.

• How new technologies will disrupt the traditional utility model – batteries, solar, micro grid
• New developments in grid innovation and distributed energy management technologies
• Exploring barriers to innovation through the Innovation Sandbox Project and why the project is needed in Canada
• The future of DSM and what it would look like

INTERNATIONAL ROUNDTABLE

Global Perspectives on the Future of the Power Sector

Response to the International Energy Agency report (released May 2021) that outlines a detailed road map of what it would take for the world’s nations to slash carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050.

Discussion of US goal to reach 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035, EU targets to cut carbon emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and Canada’s target to slash emissions by 40-45% in 9 years.

Closing Remarks and Conference Concludes