Highlights Of The Program
2 days business program:
Learn from real-world case studies by industry leaders.
SHOWCASING INNOVATION:
Discover the latest technology and techniques from across the industry.
leaders talk:
Hear from top-level experts about how to stay ahead in a fast-changing industry.
MULTIPLE STREAMS:
A business program that is multi-disciplinary, giving you a broad view of the industry.
SMART TECHNOLOGIES:
Explore the latest smart and AI-driven solutions, and see how they can be used in your business.
roundtable discussion:
Join talks with industry peers. Share ideas, make connections, and find new partners.
Program 2026
DAY 1 :
MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2026
08:00 - 08:50
REGISTRATION AND MORNING REFRESHMENTS
08:50 - 09:00
OPENING ADDRESS
09:00 - 09:25
THE RISE OF EMBEDDED VPPS: ACTIVATING GRID CAPACITY AT THE POINT OF SALE
Brady Manning
GoodLeap
- Embedding VPP enrollment into purchasing, financing, and installation workflows to shift homeowner participation from fragmented opt-in to scalable default activation
- Distilling lessons from reaching 100 MW of VPP-eligible capacity in 18 months, including what drives adoption and where traditional VPP models break down
- Redefining financing platforms as critical grid infrastructure by aligning homeowner electrification incentives with utility and grid value streams
09:25 - 09:30
Q&A SESSION ON EMBEDDED VPP ENROLLMENT AND GRID CAPACITY ACTIVATION
09:30 - 09:55
POWERING THE FUTURE: INTELLIGENT ENERGY MANAGEMENT FOR EV CHARGING
Muhammad Daoudi
Kempower
- Showcasing grid optimization strategies through distributed EV charging architectures and software-enabled control
- Profiling static load management and real-time monitoring for improved charging efficiency
- Outlining utility-integrated energy management using OpenADR, supported by live deployments
09:55 - 10:00
Q&A SESSION ON OPTIMIZING EV CHARGING THROUGH SMART ENERGY SYSTEMS
10:00 - 10:30
SPEED NETWORKING SESSION
- Exchange business cards and get connected in short one-to-one meetings
- Start the conversation to arrange a more formal meeting later on in the conference
- Share your professional background and discuss your biggest business issues — don't forget your business cards!
10:30 - 11:00
MORNING COFFEE BREAK IN THE EXHIBIT AREA
11:00 - 11:30
PANEL DISCUSSION ON VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS
11:30 - 11:55
FROM FORECASTS TO AUTONOMOUS GRID DECISIONS: BUILDING AI-DRIVEN VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS
Marko Scepanovic
Clicker Team
- Positioning VPP platforms as unified systems for DER orchestration, forecasting, dispatch, and trading
- Focusing on AI-driven optimization for battery management, grid balancing, and market responsiveness
- Furthermore, assessing digital twins, predictive maintenance, and anomaly detection in VPP operations
- Finally, mapping future VPP evolution through EV integration, flexibility markets, and energy communities
11:55 - 12:00
Q&A SESSION ON GRID INTELLIGENCE AND FLEXIBILITY MARKETS
12:00 - 12:25
POTENTIAL OF VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS TO IMPROVE ENERGY EQUITY
Yunus Kinkhabwala
PSE Healthy Energy
- Contributing household distributed energy resources to affordability, resilience, and air quality improvements
- Highlighting the system and community value of distributed resources alongside conventional power sector solutions
- Examining the relationship between energy equity outcomes, resource accessibility, and virtual power plant participation models
- Discussing an open-access tool to evaluate residential energy interventions across cost, emissions, and customer impacts
12:25 - 12:30
Q&A SESSION ON COMMUNITY BENEFITS FROM DISTRIBUTED ENERGY
12:30 - 13:30
NETWORKING LUNCH AND VISITING THE VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS EXHIBITION
13:30 - 13:55
FROM INTERCONNECTION BOTTLENECK TO GRID ASSET WITH BESS-ENABLED VPPs
Sriram Sarma Emani
Emani Energy
- Defining the role of BESS-enabled virtual power plants in accelerating large-load interconnection for data center power access
- Describing medium-voltage orchestration strategies combining flexible loads, storage, and co-located generation assets
- Detailing technical capabilities including curtailment, low-voltage ride-through compliance, backup transfer, and AI load smoothing
- Identifying monetization opportunities through reliability services, congestion management, and energy trading models
13:55 - 14:00
Q&A SESSION ON FLEXIBLE GRID STRATEGIES FOR DATA CENTER POWER
14:00 - 14:25
BTM MICRO-NUCLEAR BASELOAD AND BESS: THE ULTIMATE DER
Ara Krikorian
Radiant Nuclear
- Enabling reliable low-carbon baseload generation across diverse behind-the-meter energy applications
- Integrating micro-nuclear with battery storage, improving flexibility while strengthening resilience and independence
- Delivering competitive energy value, reducing reliance on fuel supply chains and traditional grid infrastructure
14:25 - 14:30
Q&A SESSION ON ADVANCING RESILIENT AND LOW-CARBON DISTRIBUTED ENERGY
14:30 - 15:00
RESERVED PRESENTATION
15:00 - 15:20
AFTERNOON COFFEE BREAK IN THE EXHIBIT AREA
15:20 - 15:45
DER PORTFOLIO OPTIMIZATION MODEL USING STATE-LEVEL DATA
Tim Cook
Current Energy Group
- Presenting DER portfolio optimization results, demonstrating net benefits across varying state conditions
- Analyzing market and policy influences that shape optimal DER strategies and participant outcomes
- Specifying model structure and inputs that explain constraints across a range of DER technologies
- Applying state-level system data to drive portfolio optimization outcomes and value realization
15:45 - 15:50
Q&A SESSION ON ENERGY MODELING AND SYSTEM VALUE DRIVERS
15:50 - 16:15
POWERED LAND NEEDS A VPP WITH BEHIND-THE-METER AGGREGATION
Kate Sherwood
ZeroEnergy
- Looking at the role of behind-the-meter aggregation in accelerating early power access for AI and hyperscale developments
- Deploying portfolio-based virtual power plants combining distributed generation, storage, and flexible load assets
- Unlocking market opportunities across ERCOT, PJM, and ISO-NE to monetize surplus capacity and strengthen project bankability
- Developing procurement, aggregation, and financing strategies for scaling dispatchable power solutions across site portfolios
16:15 - 16:20
Q&A SESSION ON SCALING DISPATCHABLE POWER FOR DATA CENTER GROWTH
16:20 - 16:45
BEYOND BYOB: THE CASE FOR CO-DESIGNED BATTERY VPP PROGRAMS
Tamara Sinensky
SolarEdge
- Reviewing how export policies, incentives, enrollment processes, and TPO eligibility influence VPP success
- Evaluating the impact of the post-Section 25D landscape on battery adoption and participation
- Advancing co-designed OEM, utility, and DERMS partnerships that enable scalable VPP deployment
16:45 - 16:50
Q&A SESSION ON SCALING BATTERY VPPS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE DESIGN
16:50 - 17:15
THE C&I VPP REVENUE STACK: WHAT DEVELOPERS AND EPCS NEED TO KNOW
Tim Montague
Clean Power Consulting Group
- Decoding the three-layer C&I VPP revenue stack and why aggregator access unlocks each component
- Quantifying the design decisions on duration, sizing, and ownership that determine VPP program eligibility
- Pinpointing live state markets, emerging programs, and go-to-market timing for C&I developers and EPCs
17:15 - 17:20
Q&A SESSION ON C&I VPP REVENUE STACKING AND STATE MARKET ENTRY
17:20 - 18:20
NETWORKING DRINKS RECEPTION
DAY 2 :
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2026
08:00 - 08:30
MORNING REFRESHMENTS
08:30 - 08:40
OPENING ADDRESS
08:40 - 09:05
POWERING LARGE LOADS WITH LOCAL ENERGY NETWORKS
Sachu Constantine
Vote Solar
- Offering scalable local energy solutions addressing rising electricity demand from large data center growth
- Incorporating virtual power plants with solar, storage, and distributed assets into reliable community networks
- Building policy frameworks supporting clean energy investment, grid flexibility, and large-load infrastructure expansion
09:05 - 09:10
Q&A SESSION ON SUPPORTING LARGE LOADS THROUGH DISTRIBUTED ENERGY
09:10 - 09:35
BEYOND ROE: REWIRING UTILITY INCENTIVES FOR THE VPP ERA
Jessica Fishman
Independent Consultant
- Interpreting how traditional return models prioritizing capital over flexibility hinder VPP adoption
- Exploring the transition of utilities into platform orchestrators coordinating distributed energy resources
- Introducing new revenue models that capture value from energy flows while aligning stakeholder incentives
- Navigating regulatory, organizational, and market shifts that enable system-wide benefits and customer participation
09:35 - 09:40
Q&A SESSION ON FUTURE UTILITY MODELS AND VPP VALUE
09:40 - 10:05
SECURING VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS: PRACTICAL ARCHITECTURES FOR DER AND OT
Glen Combe
Fortinet
- Establishing secure segmentation across DER assets, platforms, and control systems to strengthen grid-edge resilience
- Enhancing visibility into OT and DER communications, including legacy and proprietary protocols across environments
- Protecting grid-edge devices and aggregators through threat prevention, virtual patching, and secure remote access models
- Implementing zero-trust principles to enable scalable, secure VPP deployments without disrupting ongoing operations
10:05 - 10:10
Q&A SESSION ON SECURING GRID-EDGE OPERATIONS AND DER NETWORKS
10:10 - 10:30
MORNING COFFEE BREAK IN THE EXHIBIT AREA
10:30 - 10:55
UNLOCKING GIGAWATTS: HOW CONNECTED HOMES ARE SCALING DISPATCHABLE CAPACITY
Ryan Crasta
Ecobee
- Illustrating connected homes as scalable distributed resources supporting grid reliability and peak demand management
- Capturing demand response deployment insights across major power markets and capacity growth potential
- Scrutinizing vendor-led enrollment models that expand residential participation beyond traditional programs
- Emphasizing residential flexibility as a utility-grade solution without extensive infrastructure investment
10:55 - 11:00
Q&A SESSION ON RESIDENTIAL FLEXIBILITY FOR GRID RELIABILITY
11:00 - 11:25
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS FOR SCALING VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS (VPPs)
Shruti Singh
Oregon Institute of Technology
- Connecting microgrids to VPPs, demonstrating value through coordination and aggregated system optimization
- Examining key cost drivers, moving beyond hardware to include control, operations, and integration factors
- Leveraging value stacking, combining multiple revenue streams to strengthen overall economic viability
- Improving scalability through control intelligence, while addressing policy, incentives, and operational insights
11:25 - 11:30
Q&A SESSION ON VPP ECONOMICS, VALUE STREAMS, AND SCALABILITY DRIVERS
11:30 - 11:55
DISPATCHABLE LOAD SHIFT AND DISTRIBUTED STORAGE AS THE NEXT EVOLUTION OF VPPs
Boaz Ur
Nostromo Energy
- Comparing traditional demand response approaches with emerging grid requirements for daily operational flexibility
- Casting dispatchable load shift as a framework for operating behind-the-meter storage as a virtual power plant
- Demonstrating how real-time visibility and dispatchability improve grid utilization and system reliability
- Highlighting customer and grid benefits, including fair compensation mechanisms and reduced reliance on peaker plants
11:55 - 12:00
Q&A SESSION ON DISPATCHABLE LOAD SHIFT AND VIRTUAL POWER PLANTS
12:00 - 12:15
FEEDBACK AND RAFFLE DRAW
12:15 - 12:30
CLOSING REMARKS
12:30 - 13:30
NETWORKING LUNCH
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