September 10-11th, 2025

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ETEC Building, 1220 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12226

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September 10-11th, 2025 - ETEC Building, 1220 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12226 -

3rd Annual Renewable Energy PATHWAYS Conference

Navigating a Weather-Driven Energy Sector


 
 
 

The Center is hosting the 3rd Annual “Renewable Energy Pathways Conference: Navigating a Weather-Driven Energy Sector”, scheduled for 10-11 September 2025. This 2-day conference, occurs at the University at Albany’s ETEC building, bringing together experts and decision-makers to discuss the co-dependency of the expanding renewable energy supply and grid operations on weather in the Northeast and nationally.

The Weather Enterprise is playing a major role in the ongoing development and integration of renewable energy sources. Not only does weather (and climate) drive the siting and performance of solar and wind energy systems, but it also dynamically impacts the grid’s electricity demand and delivery capability. This codependency can be complex and will only grow as renewable energy reaches much higher grid penetration. To confront these issues, this conference is intended to address such topics as:   

  • What is the appropriate role of the weather enterprise in supporting the expansion of renewable energy generation, and who are the key stakeholders?   

  • What innovations and collaborations are necessary to ensure a sustainable transition to the new Green Energy Economy? 

  • What are the most important concerns and challenges among respective stakeholders as they perform their roles in this transition?   

  • What are the particular challenges with respect to different renewable energy technologies (solar, land-based wind, offshore wind), energy storage, and grid integration?   

  • How can we ensure a just and dependable energy future in the context of a warming planet with an increasing frequency of extreme weather?


Agenda




 
 

Keynote Speakers


 

Richard Dewey

President & CEO, NYISO

John G. Williams

Chief Policy Officer, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)

 

SPEAKERS


The conference will feature 30+ speakers covering multiple topics. Please check back as speakers are added to the agenda.

 

William Acker

Executive Director at NY-BEST

Anntonette Zembrzuska Alberti

Vice President of Strategic Growth, INSPIRE Environmental

Bruce Bailey

Executive in Residence at the University at Albany’s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center

Nick BAssill

Director of NY State Weather Risk Communiation Center

 
 

Kholood Ben-Essa

Manager of Energy Markets & Regulatory Affairs, ACENY

C. Kyle Bentley

VP of Transmission & Distribution Electric Operations at National Grid

Michael Birnkrant

R&D Director, Carrier

John Cordi

Director, Demand Flex & VVP, New York Power Authority

 
 

Matt Cote

Director of Forecasting, UL Solutions

Philip Court

CTO and Co-Founder of Ecosuite.io

Jennifer Dodge

Associate Professor, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy

Timothy Duffy

Timothy Duffy, Senior Director, Market Issues Group, NYPA

 
 

Scott evans

Principal Scientist AI-Machine Learning, GE Vernova

Jeff Freedman

Research Faculty at the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center


Jeffrey Goldmeer

Senior Director of Technology Strategy, GE Vernova

JORGE gONZALEZ-cRUZ

Professor - Empire Innovation, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center

 
 

Rob GrAmlich

President and Founder, Grid Strategies LLC

Zeryai Hagos

Executive Director, Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission

Daniel Kirk-

Davidoff

Senior Technical Leader at EPRI

Moncef Krarti

Professor and Coordinator Building Systems Program, Director, Building Energy Smart Technologies Center

 
 

Pramila s. Nirbhavane

Manager of Energy Security at NYISO

Pavel Ozhogin

Head of Data Science and ML Engineering, National Grid

Richard Perez

Senior Research Faculty at Atmospheric Sciences Research Center

Bram Peterson

Associate Director with the Large-Scale Resources team of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)

 
 

Lyle RawlinGs

President & CEO of Advanced Solar Products, Inc.

Justin Sharp

Senior Technical Leader, EPRI

ryan silva

Executive Director of the New York State Economic Development Council (NYSEDC)

Derek Stenclik

Founding Partner, Telos Energy

 
 

Cole Swain

VP of Strategy and Partnerships, Tomorrow.io

Colin Tareila

Executive Vice President of Asset Operations, Key Capture Energy

Christopher Thorncroft

Director, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center and Professor

Luke Wentlent

Sr. Director of Product Management at Plug Power

 
 

David Whipple

Senior Director, Industry Development at New York State - Empire State Development

Jan WoodCock

Director of Operations at the NYS Center of Excellence in Weather and Climate Analytics


 

Accomodations