Microgrids: The Benefits of Including Energy Storage

Dr. Aleksi Paaso is the Manager of Grid Strategy Analytics for ComEd. In this role, he is responsible for driving and overseeing the development and implementation of short and long term strategic Smart Grid initiatives. He is also responsible for providing strategic and technical vision and support to the ComEd’s Utility of the Future Initiative and Grid Modernization Efforts. Prior to his current role, he served as a Sr. Engineer in Smart Grid & Technology organization at ComEd. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Kentucky.

Dr. Paaso is the Vice Chair of the 2017 IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) General Meeting Local Organizing Committee. He is also the Vice Chair of the IEEE PES Distributed Generation Integration Working Group’s Microgrid Design Task Force. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and Member of CIGRE and licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Illinois.

Alex Eller is a research analyst in Navigant Research’s Energy Technologies program, leading syndicated research for the Grid-Tied Energy Storage research service, as well as supporting the Advanced Batteries, Microgrids, and Distributed Renewables research services. Eller specializes in global market analysis and competitive assessments to evaluate new products, company strategies, and forecast market growth for energy storage and other distributed energy technologies.

Prior to joining Navigant Research, Eller served as an account manager at Energy Acuity, where he was also the lead analyst for a research project on the investment strategies of US power utilities. He has worked with diverse clients, including utilities, Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms, technology start-ups, and leading software providers to ensure they have a complete understanding of their target markets and the competitive landscape in the emerging distributed energy ecosystem. Eller has been cited in numerous industry publications and media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Utility Dive, Electric Light & Power, and Energy Manager Today. He holds a BSBA in international business from the University of Denver.

Arindam Maitra is a Technical Executive at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). He is responsible for leading and managing activities related to the power system infrastructure for energy storage, plug-in hybrid vehicles, microgrids, and integrating smart distributed energy resources with distribution management systems. He is also conducting and managing numerous research activities associated with power systems and power electronics.

Prior to joining the Energy Utilization group, Maitra worked as a Senior Project Manager in the System Analysis and System Studies group (previously EPRI Solutions and EPRI PEAC). He conducted and managed a wide range of research activities and power system studies in the transmission, distribution, and power quality research areas. He also managed projects related to reliability improvement, power electronic development efforts, indices for describing power quality and reliability performance, and load model development.

Michael Herbert is an analyst in the Office of Energy Policy and Innovation at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). He serves as the electric storage policy coordinator for FERC. He is the technical lead on the notice of proposed rulemaking for electric storage resources and is coordinating storage-related issues for a separate notice of proposed rulemaking on generator interconnection reforms. He worked on FERC’s policy statement regarding the utilization of electric storage resources as transmission assets and numerous filings and technical conferences related to electric storage resources. Prior to coming to FERC, he worked on alternative energy investment analysis for the Department of Defense, with an emphasis on electric vehicles, vehicle-to-grid systems, and renewable energy. Michael received a bachelor’s degree from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, and joint master’s degrees from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Mr. Burke is a Principal Analyst in Market Development with ISO New England (the RTO for the New England control area). He has over forty years of experience in the energy industry. Since joining ISO-NE, he has held various positions and been involved with the development and subsequent on-going improvement of the wholesale energy markets. Mr. Burke has been involved in the development and implementation of new Demand Response programs and the ISO’s Internet Based Communication System Open Solution for activating and providing near real-time data on demand response assets and its successor system. Earlier in his career, Mr. Burke bought and sold power and generating capacity on a daily and annual basis. Mr. Burke was a member of the GridWise Architecture Council (GWAC) from 2009 through 2012 and is now a member emeritus. He is also a member of IEEE. Mr. Burke has a B.E. in heat and power from Stevens Institute of Technology, MBA and MS in Computer Science, both from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and has completed all examination requirements in Connecticut for a CPA.

Ryan Edge is a Program Manager at SEPA focused on education programs for our Solar Power event series including Solar Power International. In his current role, Ryan oversees content development and speaker selection for these events, and serves as a liaison with Solar Energy Trade Shows. Additionally, Ryan works closely with the Operations, Membership and Marketing teams at SEPA to enhance member participation in these events.

Ryan has been with SEPA since January 2014, starting as an Analyst with the Research team. During this time, he authored numerous research reports on topics including advanced inverter functionality, utility customer programs, and microgrids, in addition to other subjects.

Prior to joining SEPA, Ryan came from a background in regulatory compliance in the coal mining industry. In a shift toward renewable energy and smart grid, he completed his graduate capstone, working in conjunction with Portland General Electric, researching and developing policy recommendations for the role of smart inverters in the grid integration of distributed PV.

Ryan earned a B.I.S. degree from Western Kentucky University and a Master of Public Administration with an Energy Policy concentration from Portland State University.