Presentations

11/09/2022: Our CEO, Dr Christopher T M Clack, presented for the Payne Institute Fall Hybrid Seminar Series on “Economy-wide decarbonization of the United States and Europe”.

Two of the largest emitters on the planet are the United States and Europe with combined annual economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions of approximately eleven billion metric tonnes (30% of total). With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there is growing price instability in energy across these regions. There are pathways to decarbonize Europe and the United States. Recently, the USA passed the IRA legislation, which substantially improves the economics of these pathways. In this presentation, we will study some of these pathways discussing details of important inputs and variables that contribute to specifics of the pathway course.

04/06/2021: Our CEO, Dr Christopher T M Clack, presented for the “Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG)” Online Webinar Series on “Generation & Transmission Planning.” The presentation was part of a panel on co-optimization techniques and results. The talk focused on what VCE considers for its modeling tools and consulting. It showed the level of detail in the data that should be incorporated for high fidelity modeling. The latter part of the presentation showed results from the recent DER study that VCE performed. It showed additional results that enhance its robustness. These will be presented in a report at a later date.

03/29/2021: Our CEO, Dr Christopher T M Clack, presented for the “Colorado Public Utilities Commission” Commissioner Information Meeting on “The role of transmission in deep decarbonization.” The presentation led by breaking down why transmission is important in the future electricity grids and decarbonization along with how it can be most effectively make profitable and useful for an efficient grid. It also described at a macro-level the usefulness of transmission and its necessity in decarbonization. In the the final third of the presentation, Dr Clack presented some findings from a soon-to-be released study “ZeroByFifty.” The main point of the presentation is that transmission is an enabler of decarbonization and without it, you cannot achieve clean energy goals. Replacement with other assets is extremely unlikely in most cases.

03/22/2021: Our CEO, Dr Christopher T M Clack, presented for the “Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG)” Online Webinar Series on “The role of transmission in deep decarbonization.” The presentation introduced the concept of transmission and its purpose generally across electricity. It also described at a macro-level the usefulness of transmission and its necessity in decarbonization. In the middle half of the presentation, Dr Clack presented use-case examples of how transmission benefits the grid and how it might help with extreme situations on large synchronous grids. In the the final quarter of the presentation, Dr Clack presented some findings from a soon-to-be released study “ZeroByFifty.” The main point of the presentation is that transmission is an enabler of decarbonization and without it, you cannot achieve clean energy goals. Replacement with other assets is extremely unlikely in most cases.

03/02/2021: Our CEO, Dr Christopher T M Clack, presented for the “Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG)” Spring Workshop Opening Keynote on “100% Clean by 2050: What does it look like?” The presentation introduced (briefly) some of the core concepts on economy-wide modeling and the data required for such endeavors. In the second half of the presentation, Dr Clack presented some findings from a soon-to-be released study “ZeroByFifty.” The main thrust of the presentation was to detail one pathway for the United States economy to reach zero emission by 2050. He concluded the presentation with a checklist of activities and policies that must occur for the pathway to be successful. During the Q&A, Dr Clack answered questions relating to the risks and barriers to completing the economy-wide transition.

01/27/2021: Our CEO, Dr Christopher T M Clack, presented for the “Deep Decarbonization Initiative” webinar series on “Insights from Modeling the Decarbonization of the United States Economy by 2050.” The webinar was organized by the University of California San Diego. The presentation introduced (briefly) some of the core concepts on economy-wide modeling and the data required for such endeavors. In the second half of the presentation, Dr Clack presented some findings from a soon-to-be released study “ZeroByFifty.” The main thrust of the presentation was to detail one pathway for the United States economy to reach zero emission by 2050. He concluded the presentation with a checklist of activities and policies that must occur for the pathway to be successful. During the Q&A, Dr Clack answered questions relating to the risks and barriers to completing the economy-wide transition.

12/15/2020: Our CEO, Dr Christopher T M Clack, presented for the “Future of Energy” webinar series on “Transmission.” The webinar was organized by The Institute for Science & Policy at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. The presentation took a look at transmission and how it is integral for all future clean electricity goals across the United States. Dr Clack also presented some findings from a forthcoming report (zero2050usa.com). The main thrust of the presentation was that every study that has been done shows that transmission is necessary and the more that is built the lower the cost for customers and fewer emissions the county will emit. The institute will share the talk via their YouTube page, or use the link below.

06/02/2020: Our CEO, Dr Christopher T M Clack, presented as a discussant during the first Future Power Markets Forum (moved online due to COVID-19). The forum was to inspire discussion about the future role low-emission technologies will need to take for energy production and how those will shape the thinking about future power markets. In his presentation Dr Clack discussed some results from the VCE® WIS:dom® model and how it brought to light that only two types of resources are needed: low-cost (clean) electricity resources (kWh) and flexibility resources (kWh->kW->kWh) that can turn the low-cost electricity back and forth (in time, space and composition) to shape around the generation and loads to become matched perfectly.

04/16/2020: Our CEO, Dr Christopher T M Clack, presented during the ESIG Spring Technical Workshop 2020 (moved online due to COVID-19). The workshop brings together academia, industry and government to discuss the latest in energy systems. In his presentation Dr Clack discussed the VCE® WIS:dom® has been tailored to look at across the energy system integration field. He showed that electrification, transmission, detailed datasets and climate change should be modeled to understand more about how the energy transition will happen in an affordable and reliable manner. He showed some recent internal studies for deep decarbonization of the US as well as a deep dive into specific regions of the US and the granularity of the data.

02/25/2020: Our CEO, Dr Christopher T M Clack, presented during the 2020 Solar Power & Energy Storage Mountain West Conference in Denver, CO. The conference was in panel format and brings together the foremost leaders in the intermountain west. In his panel Dr Clack discussed what the VCE® WIS:dom® model implies for the possible pathways to clean energy in the Western US electricity system. He showed that the West has several options available to it, but the most efficient is a wider grid that integrates the regions together to take advantage of shared capacity resources as well as the geographic variability of the lowest-cost resources (wind and solar). These conclusions are similar to previous presentations Dr Clack has made on the Western US decarbonization pathways.

01/23/2020: Our CEO, Dr Christopher T M Clack, presented during the third annual Colorado Energy and Water Institute (CEWI) Forum in Steamboat Springs, CO. The forum brings together 200 of the most influential energy experts, policy makers, and industry leaders. In his presentation he discussed what the VCE® WIS:dom® model suggests as possible pathways for the Western US electricity system. He showed that the West has several options available to it, but the most efficient is a wider grid that integrates the regions together to take advantage of shared capacity resources as well as the geographic variability of the lowest-cost resources (wind and solar). He also presented new results of study into the price of new Underground High-Voltage Direct Current (UG HVDC) to enable the interconnections.

12/10/2019: Our CEO, Dr Christopher T M Clack, presented during the AGU Fall 2019 Conference in San Francisco, CA. In the presentation he discussed how variable renewable energy could be transformed into baseload generation and that VCE® has developed a tool that allows users to input their own costs and constraints to perform similar investigations. He showed that baseload from dispatchable variable renewable energy generation is only 10 years away from being cost competitive with nuclear, coal and natural gas (in some regions of the US). It is anticipated the tool will be released by the end of Q1 2020.

10/29/2019: Our CEO, Dr Christopher T M Clack, presented during the plenary panel at the Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG) Fall Technical Workshop in Charlotte, NC. In the presentation he discussed some internal studies that VCE® has been carrying out using different tools being developed and deployed. He showed that baseload and dispatchable variable renewable energy generation is only 10 years away in some regions of the US. More work will come from the study and will be presented and published in the near future.

10/24/2019: Our CEO, Dr Christopher T M Clack, presented during a panel at the WIRES International Summit on the Electric Transmission Grid at the Canadian Embassy to the United States in Washington DC. In the presentation he went over some recent studies that look at HVDC infrastructure and how it could be used as a network backbone across the USA for delivering lower-cost clean electricity. He says that “if you love renewables, you have to learn to like transmission”. He discusses NREL REFS (2012), Nature Climate Change paper (2016), NREL ERGIS (2016), VCE® MN Smarter Grid (2018), NREL SEAMS Study (2018) and the forthcoming VCE® National Decarbonization Study.

09/11/2019: Dr Rhodes presented at the Big Tent Clean Energy Meeting in Austin, Tx (remotely) to discuss what the high energy prices in ERCOT seen recently really mean for the market. The talk focusses on how ERCOT works as a market, what changes have happened and what scarcity prices mean for consumers and generators.

08/23/2019: Dr Clack presented at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission in Denver, CO as part of a panel covering the topics related to modeling the future energy system and how different technologies will impact those future systems. The talk was similar to that for the BPPC, however, it focussed more on Colorado and it highlighted the challenges faced for deep decarbonization of the economy. There was substantial discussion following the presentation. A webcast is provided by the CPUC below, with Dr Clack’s presentation beginning at 2:00:14.

05/31/2019: Dr Clack presented at the Bipartisan Policy Center meeting in Washington, DC (remotely) as part of a panel covering the topics related to modeling the future energy system and how different technologies will impact those future systems. The talk and discussion focused on what needs to be considered to supply all energy of the United States economy with renewable and clean resources.

05/01/2019: Dr Clack presented a webinar to interested parties on how the Coal Crossover study was performed and what the results might mean for the Southeast USA. His talk covered the detailed dataset created for the new wind and solar facilities, the existing coal-fired power plant dataset construction, and the algorithm for replacing the coal with the new wind or solar. The presentation also dived deeper into the Southeast coal fleet and its competition with low-cost renewables.

05/01/2019: Dr Clack presented at the CESA National Membership meeting at NREL in Golden, CO as part of a panel covering the topics related to building electrification and its role in planning new energy systems. The talk and discussion focused on what needs to be considered for electrifying and decarbonizing sectors that are not traditionally planned for in capacity expansion models.

03/25/2019: Dr Clack presented at the 2nd International Conference on Energy System Integration as part of a panel covering the topics related to transportation and their role in planning. The talk and discussion focused on what needs to be considered for transportation planning for low-emission futures for the whole economy.

03/21/2019: Dr Clack presented at the Energy System Integration Group (ESIG) Spring technical meeting as part of a panel covering the topics related to planning the entire US energy system by 2050. The talk and discussion focused on what needs to be considered when planning for low-emission futures for the whole economy. The results are based on internal modeling VCE has done to experiment with zero carbon economy using WIS:dom and coupling sectors (such as industry, hydrogen, natural gas, electricity, transport, agriculture, residential and commercial). The presentation takes a look at what unique details are required when there is very high levels of renewable energy.

02/06/2019: Dr Clack presented a webinar to the ESIG series on the VCE report sponsored by the McKnight Foundation. The webinar discusses the study that was performed over the Eastern Interconnection while focussing on decarbonizing the state Minnesota’s economy by 2050 (80% below 2005 levels). Dr Clack talked about the high-level conclusions as well as the detailed methods and a sneak peak into the detailed modeling. The full report can be found here or on the McKnight website here. The project was managed by GridLab.

01/24/2019: Dr Clack presented at the Colorado Energy and Water Institute as part of a panel covering the topics related to decarbonizing the entire US energy system by 2050. The talk and discussion focused on whether we should be doing anything differently today and what actions we need to be aware of that can change the course of the deployment of low carbon technologies in time to mitigate climate change. The results are based on internal modeling VCE has done to experiment with zero carbon economy using WIS:dom and coupling sectors (such as industry, hydrogen, natural gas, electricity, transport, agriculture, residential and commercial). This is a conversation that must continue to develop a zero emission economy as fast as possible.

11/28/2018: Dr Clack presented the interim results and a synopsis of the methodology used for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) study that VCE is carrying out. The study is a leap forward in paradigm for modeling energy requirements on an ISO footprint and pushing that system to extrema using high-resolution data and high-fidelity modeling tools. Final results are expected to be completed by early 2019.

10/30/2018: Dr Clack presented the final results and synopsis of the Minnesota’s Smarter Grid Study to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission at a Special Planning Meeting. Dr Clack discussed the WIS:dom optimization model and how it was used to demonstrate the viability of decarbonizing the entire Minnesotan economy by 80% from 2005 levels by 2050. It was shown that Minnesota can do this in concert with the rest of the Eastern Interconnection. Dr Clack illustrated the benefits of electrification as a pathway to economic decarbonization as the process grows electric load, adds flexibility and reduces the burden on the transmission system.  Dr Clack ended the presentation by noting that the study solved under numerous scenarios at costs that are lower than today, while reducing emissions. He also pointed out that each Minnesotan household could save as much as $1,200 per year in direct costs.

10/26/2018: Dr Clack traveled to the Fall 2018 Joint WIEB-CREPC meeting in Phoenix Arizona to participate in a panel discussion on the benefits and requirements for electrification of end-use sectors for decarbonization goals. Dr Clack discussed the advantages and disadvantages of electrification and how it impacts the electricity grid. Dr Clack showed results of modeling performed by VCE that demonstrates pathways for the Eastern Interconnect and Western Interconnection for all the PUC members and other audience members.

10/19/2018: Dr Clack traveled to Columbia University, in New York, to present a seminar on the possibility of new energy systems that depend on technologies that are primarily weather driven. Dr Clack discussed the advantages and disadvantages of such systems and the various ways that they can be planned for with sophisticated modeling. Dr Clack showed results of modeling performed by VCE that demonstrates pathways for the Eastern Interconnect to decarbonize by 2050, at costs lower than today.

Panel presentation given by our CEO, Dr Christopher Clack, at the PMAPS 2018 Conference in Boise, Idaho in June 2018. The presentation centered around considerations and opportunities regarding weather, load, and uncertainty in planning models. Dr Clack discussed some of the lessons that VCE has learned through its work and discussed ways to consider new uncertainties and what can be done to reduce them.

Keynote presentation given by our CEO, Dr Christopher Clack, at the Solar Canada 2018 Conference in Calgary, Alberta in June 2018. The presentation centered around considerations and opportunities surrounding variable renewable generation buildout for Alberta. Dr Clack discussed some of the lessons that VCE has learned through its work in the USA and then applied that work for Alberta. VCE showed that 2,000 MW of Solar PV is economic in Alberta regardless of climate policy, but for removal of all coal and much of the natural gas would require much more wind and solar working in concert.

Keynote presentation given by our CEO, Dr Christopher Clack, at the CCS (Carbon Capture & Sequestration) Forum 2018 in San Michele, Italy in June 2018. The presentation centered around considerations and myth-busting regarding CCS and its unique place in reducing emissions. Dr Clack discussed some of the alternatives to CCS and how it may be necessary as a last resort, if action is not taken fast enough on renewables, demand side efficiency (and resources), storage, nuclear, transmission, and other actions that are necessary to defeat climate change. The talk was designed to challenge the internal dialogue of the Forum with an “outsiders” perspective on the role of CCS in the future energy mix.

Presentation given to Colorado Public Utilities Commission in May 2018 by our CEO Christopher Clack. The presentation centered around existing and future models for planning the evolution of the grid. VCE discussed their model WIS:dom along with their thoughts on where the field should go.

Presentation given to The Payne Institute at the Colorado School Of Mines in May 2018 by our CEO Dr Christopher T. M. Clack. The presentation describes the ongoing work at Vibrant Clean Energy, along with details about model results and our ground-breaking model WIS:dom.

Presentation given at The Utility Variable-Generation Integration Group (UVIG) in Atlanta, GA in June 2017 by our CEO Dr Christopher T. M. Clack. The presentation details considerations for low-emission futures for the electricity grid.

Presentation given at The Utility Variable-Generation Integration Group (UVIG) in Tucson, AZ in March 2017 by our founder Christopher Clack.