Massachusetts is at the forefront of transportation technology with a pilot project that put the nation’s first electric school buses on the road at the end of 2016. We’ll hear from the pilot implementers working with public schools in Amherst, Cambridge, and Concord MA about the pilot goals and technology. From the Massachusetts Dept. of Energy Resources, we’ll learn about operations and data on fuel efficiency, consumption, and costs. Together we’ll consider the future impact and challenges of electric bus fleets. This session takes place on an electric school bus: walk through the hotel lobby, past the front desk, and down the escalator. The bus will be parked at the corner of Fargo Street and D Street. Seating is limited.

With the effects of climate change at our shores, and the federal administration’s decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement, the time for local action is now. In order to avoid the most damaging effects of climate change, GHG emissions must be addressed rapidly and comprehensively. This session will focus on holistic approaches to planning for net zero and tools to help cities and towns set and achieve ambitious climate goals. The audience will learn about tools and resources to help them accelerate their communities toward net zero, best practices from a local practitioner about how to get there, and insights into how to engage the private cleantech sector in supporting that work.

Fixed utility charges and net metering policy have a major impact on the economics of rooftop solar and energy efficiency. For a long time these issues were fairly static in the Northeast, but there have been recent proposals by utilities and utility regulators to make dramatic changes to them. This session will give an overview of these proposals and other changes that are currently being discussed in the region.

Months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, much is unsure about the future of electricity there. We'll offer two perspectives on efforts to deploy renewables in the post-2017-hurricane-season landscape. Will photovoltaics make a large impact in grid-rebuilding? There has been a lot of talk and a lot of on-the-ground hard work. Clearly, islands and regions are following vastly different pathways toward resilience and sustainability. Caribbean islands and nations already on pathways to PV may now be accelerating their efforts. Much work still lies ahead. All in the BuildingEnergy community need to be enlightened as to these efforts and emboldened to participate in ongoing deployment.

Storage is happening everywhere: behind the meter, in front of the meter, and in autonomous microgrids. Already, storage is addressing the variability in renewable sources of generation, offsetting time-of-use rates and demand charges, reducing peak loads on both sides of the meter, and enabling new levels of resiliency. This session will describe the various battery technologies, their applications and pros and cons, define storage value propositions, discuss “value-stacking” and storage as a service, and present case studies on the many ways storage is now applied across the spectrum.

We may be on the threshold of a dramatic re-think in electricity distribution. These reforms should create huge opportunities for innovation, distributed energy resources, and efficiency. Leaders of the transformative process will share current developments and expected outcomes.

Acadia Center’s EnergyVision 2030 analysis explores how the Northeast can reduce carbon emissions to meet 2030 targets that put it on the path to meet 80% by 2050 mandates, which exist in most states. The analysis sets numerical targets in four categories—energy efficiency, electrifying buildings and transportation, greening electric supply, and modernizing the grid.

The floods and hurricanes of 2017 and the winter weather of 2018 all highlight the need for buildings and communities that can withstand natural (and human-made) disasters and continue to provide critical energy needs. The speakers will discuss (1) resiliency in general, (2) how building design professionals can incorporate resiliency into their projects, and (3) examples of communities that are starting to incorporate resiliency into critical infrastructure (microgrids).

New this year, Lightning Rounds pack as much information into one session as possible. You’ll hear succinct, to-the-point, and practical presentations on a variety of data-focused topics, including: Extracting Value from Data: How energy management can help save millions of dollars a year by bringing down energy bill costs significantly while improving productivity.