presenting partner:
Monday, April 17
8:00 am – 8:30 am
REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom
breakfast sponsor:
8:30 am – 9:00 am
OPENING REMARKS PRESENTED BY TITLE PARTNER NOVA SCOTIA POWER
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom A
Opening Remarks:
Karen Gatien, Deputy Minister, Natural Resources and Renewables, Province of Nova Scotia
9:00 am – 10:00 am
KEYNOTE/ROUNDTABLE: THE ENERGY QUAGMIRE
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom
session sponsor:
The effort and energy going toward reducing emissions and transitioning our energy systems in Canada is unprecedented, however, our ability to achieve net zero is still being limited. What is standing in the way of net zero might not be what you think, it’s time for some perspective-taking.
Led by QUEST Canada’s Tonja Leach, this keynote fireside session will deliver a candid view on a controversial question “We have been told we have most of the solutions we need to achieve net zero and yet, despite many efforts, implementation remains persistently and frustratingly elusive across much of Canada. Why is this the case? What are we not understanding or doing right to bring the future we all desire to fruition? Join this session as panellists take stock of the situation and offer insights into how we need to refocus.
moderator: Tonya Leach, Executive Director, QUEST Canada
panel members:
Peter Gregg, President and CEO, Nova Scotia Power
Gary Mar, President and CEO, Canada West Foundation
Philippe Dunsky, President, Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors
10:00 am – 10:30 am – NETWORKING BREAK & COFFEE
LOCATION: Atlantic Ballroom
10:30 am – 11:30 am
HYDROGEN’S POTENTIAL IN MEETING DE-CARBONIZATION
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom A
moderator: Grace Corry, Director of Sales & Marketing, National Thermovoltaics
panel members:
Derek Estabrook, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, Eastward Energy
Daniel Charette, COO, Charbone Hydrogen
Chris Penny, Manager – Hydrogen Projects, Atura Energy
Samuel McDermott, Technical Manager – Renewable Hydrogen Business Development, ENBRIDGE GAS INC.
Rene Gallant, Vice President Strategy & Engagement, Nova Scotia Power
10:30 am – 11:30 am
ACTIONING COMMUNITY STRATEGIES FOR NET ZERO
Location: Harbour Suites A & B
This session will discuss the innovative programs deployed by municipalities to address net-zero
moderator: His Worship Mike Savage, Mayor, Halifax Regional Municipality
panel members:
Her Worship Dawn Arnold, Mayor, City of Moncton
His Worship David Mitchell, Mayor, Bridgewater
Her Worship Brenda Chisholm Beaton, Mayor, Town of Port Hawkesbury
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
HYDROGEN & RENEWABLES CO-DEVELOPMENT: A CALL TO ACTION
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom A
Which of the proven Hydrogen & Renewable technologies are actionable to align with Canada’s Hydrogen Strategy? Wind, solar, biomass and geothermal are potential candidates as this session will explore.
moderator: Nathan Ashcroft, Director, Strategic Business Development – Energy Transition, Stantec
panel members:
Melissa Morrison, Senior Planner, Renewables and Hydrogen, DNV
Christine Boland, Director, Renewable Energy Policy Division, Department of Industry, Energy and Technology, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
David Zekveld, Head of Development, Hydrogen, Northland Power Inc.
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
EFFICENCY-BUILDING DESIGN & RETROFITS FOR NET ZERO
Location: Harbour Suites A & B
Hear the latest in building design and retrofits to meet net-zero targets. Passive houses, flexible electrification, stacking values, funding for demand response programs, inclusion of all in the energy transformation, life cycle net-zero buildings, what’s proportion of buildings/energy use in 2050 that come from the stock of buildings currently in place today are topics are to getting us to net-zero. This session’s experts will provide their insights followed by a Q&A session with the audience.
moderator: Stephen MacDonald, President & CEO, Efficiency One
panel members:
Winston Morton, CEO, Climative
Hugo LaFrance, Associate, Director – Sustainability, Lemay
Representative, Homes and Communities Division, Office of Energy Efficiency in the Energy Efficiency and Technologies Sector, Natural Resources Canada
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
KEYNOTE LUNCHEON: TRANSITIONING ENERGY TO NET ZERO: ELECTRIFICATION, DE-CARBONIZATION & HYDROGEN
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom A
moderator: Catherine Abreu, Executive Director, Destination Zero
panel members:
Kelly Grieves, Hydrogen Strategy Lead, Atura Power
Frederick Morency, VP Sustainability, Strategic Initiatives & Innovation, Schneider Electric Canada
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm
NETWORKING BREAK & DESSERT
Location: Atlantic Ballroom
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
THE CANADIAN EV LANDSCAPE
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom A
session sponsor:
This session is intended to be a “debate format” between car manufacturers, commercial users, and industry weigh in on the challenges or barriers to Actioning EVs in Canada.
moderator: Sanjeev Pushkarna, Senior Program Manager, Nova Scotia Power
panel members:
Krista Phillips, Head of Strategic Electrification, Natural Resources and Renewables
Maureen Shuell, COO, Electric Mobility Canada
Raed Kadri, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Head Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network at OCI
Martin Sibbald, Chief Innovation Officer, CAA Atlantic
Matth Loose, Senior Technical Advisor, FLO
Christopher Ralph, Manager of Sustainable Mobility Solutions, Lion Electric
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
ENERGY STORAGE: A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF CANADA’S NET ZERO FUTURE
Location: Harbour Suites A & B
Conversations related to decarbonizing Canadian electricity tend to focus on how it is generated, but increasing the generation of clean electricity will not be enough to meet the growing demands of the system or the net zero goals Canada has set. To be effective, we must also knit the electricity system together, through a large-scale build-out of diverse forms of energy storage – both short & long duration – which can optimize all generation assets, advancing on its path to carbon neutrality.
Facilitated by Energy Storage Canada’s Executive Director, Justin Rangooni, this panel will discuss the critical role for energy storage in Canada’s energy future, the potential capacity for energy storage across the country, & the coordinated efforts required to realize the benefits of the technology.
moderator: Justin Rangooni, Executive Director, Energy Storage Canada
panel members:
Charles Mazzacato, Energy Storage Development, Ameresco
Jason Rioux, Chief Development Officer, NRStor
Patrick D. Bateman, Principal Consultant & Strategic Advisor, PDBateman & Associates Inc.
Martin Rheault, VP Business Development & Sales, EVLO
Chris Hooper, CCO, Emera Technologies Limited
session sponsor:
3:00 pm – 4:15 pm
BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO SMART GRID DEPLOYMENT
Location: Harbour Suites A & B
The electricity system is undergoing a fundamental change in how we generate, deliver, and manage our electricity. This panel will discuss the barriers and opportunities this change creates in the different provinces to deploy smart grid technologies due to different electricity system structures, markets, and regulatory environments. We will explore what learnings can be shared from utilities paving the way for electricity grid modernization.
moderator: Ammar Nawaz, VP, Distributed Energy Solutions, Alectra
panel members:
Neil Cumming, Senior Engineer, Grid Innovation, ENMAX
Maureen Kolla, Project Manager, Solas Energy Consulting Inc.
Kevin Colvey, Director of Corporate Development, St. John Power
Giles Counsell, Managing Consultant, Smart Energy Lead – Energy Business Advisory, Siemens Canada
Sanjeev Pushkarna, Senior Program Manager, Nova Scotia Power
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
ELECTRIFICATION: PLANNING THE ROADMAP
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom A
session sponsor:
This session will look at demystifying “actionable” next steps to planning the road map for electrification in Canada. Recent studies suggest the federal government has an important role to play while responsibility for electricity and energy systems sits with the provinces. The provinces have the authority to direct utilities and regulators to align their planning and decisions with the electrification needed to reach net-zero, and they will need to work together to optimize and integrate their power grids to do so at the lowest cost to consumers. Plan to join in on the conversation.
moderator: Lauren McNutt, Managing Consultant, Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors
panel members:
Anton Prenneis, VP of Strategic Partnerships, AutoGrid Systems, Inc.
Nick Campbell, Operations Manager, National Thermovoltics
Grant Outerbridge, Manager of Electrification and Optimization, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro
Chris Milligan, Senior Manager, System Planning, Nova Scotia Power
4:00 pm – 4:15 pm
SPECIAL PRESENTATION – Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom A
4:15 pm – COCKTAIL RECEPTION
Location: Atlantic Ballroom
reception sponsor:
Tuesday, April 18
8:00 am – 9:00 am
KEYNOTE BREAKFAST: INTERNATIONAL CLEAN ENERGY PERSPECTIVES
Lessons Learned from Europe and Fundamental Principles for a Smooth Transition to a Clean Energy Future in Atlantic Canada – Sponsored by Atlantica Centre for Energy
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom A
presenter: Michael Galvin, Director of Hydrogen and Sustainable Fuels, Simply Blue Group
session sponsor:
9:00 am – 10:00 am
POWER IN PARTNERSHIPS
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom A
Leadership examples in the renewable energy industry, and the benefits of true collaboration and partnership with indigenous communities.
moderator:
panel members:
Robb Apold, Executive Director, Natural Forces
9:00 am – 10:00 am
SMART ENERGY SHOWCASE: STARTUP TECHNOLOGIES FROM ACROSS CANADA
Location: Harbour Suites A & B
Inviting startups to mid-stage companies to showcase the latest net-zero technology to Smart Energy’s leading industry delegates April 17 & 18th, 2023 in Halifax. Selected companies will have the opportunity to host their own 15-minute session and present their technology to conference delegates as well as showcase their 5-minute video on the Smart Energy website. Each approved company will have an opportunity to invite up to 40 guests to a 15-minute presentation in the Maritime Room.
10:00 am – 10:30 am
NETWORKING BREAK & COFFEE
Location: Atlantic Ballroom
10:30 am – 11:30 am
POSITIONING CANADA TO COMPETE & SUCCEED IN A NET ZERO FUTURE, presented by NET ZERO ADVISORY BODY (NZAB)
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom A
session sponsor:
What does Canada need to do to compete and succeed in a net-zero future? Get the latest insights from Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body (NZAB) during this panel discussion.
This session will feature NZAB member Catherine Abreu and NZAB Co-chair Dan Wicklum, who will share concrete solutions from the NZAB’s 2022 annual report, Compete and Succeed in a Net-Zero Future, to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Attendees will hear directly from the NZAB on recommendations for improving national decision-making, monitoring and reporting of progress, launching a modern, best-in-class net-zero industrial policy to develop the industries of the future, all while transitioning to a net-zero grid that is powerful enough to supply an exponentially increasing demand for clean energy.
Dan Wicklum, CoChair, Net-Zero Advisory Body
10:30 am – 11:30 am
ADVANCING TIDAL, SOLAR & WIND DEVELOPMENTS
Location: Harbour Suites A & B
What does the future have in store for Tidal, Solar and Wind projects in Atlantic Canada?
moderator:
panel members:
Rory Cantwell, CEO, SWEB Developments
Angela Banks, Manager, Office of Net Zero, Government of Prince Edward Island
Leigh-Anne Thurber, Senior Analyst, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
OFFSHORE POSSIBILITIES FOR WIND & MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom A
Data shows Atlantic Canada has one of the best wind resources in the world, inclusive of offshore. This collaborative panel of experts will speak to opportunities for wind, marine and community infrastructure while sharing experiences from other international projects. Hear from developers, policymakers, planners, and community stakeholders as they share insights for accelerating planning and development of projects utilizing offshore wind, hydrogen, e-fuels and more.
moderator: Christine Bonnell-Eisnor, Chief Executive Officer, Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board
panel members:
Trevor Hennigar, COO, Rimot
Brenda Chisholm-Beaton, Mayor, Town of Port Hawkesbury
Anne-Marie Belliveau, Offshore Development Manager, DP Energy Group
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
SMR’S: A CLEAN ENERGY OPTION
Location: Harbour Suites A & B
This session will explore the various applications of SMRs, what is currently underway through Canada’s Small Modular Reactor Action Plan, SMR development currently underway in New Brunswick and how that fits into the Pan-Canadian approach.
moderator: Brett Plummer, Chief Nuclear Officer for Point Lepreau Nuclear Generation Station and VP Nuclear for NB Power
panel members:
Tristan Jackson, Vice President, Corporate Development, Moltex
Lance Clarke, VP Commercialization & Strategy, ARC Clean Technology
Dave Bernier, Senior Vice President, Energy Stantec
12:30 pm – 2:30 pm
LUNCHEON ROUNDTABLE: A CANADIAN PROVINCES PERSPECTIVE
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom A
How are Canada’s provinces preparing for net-zero and their perspective on key drivers including the new carbon price agreement and more.
moderator: Stephen Hartlen, who is the Assistant Vice President, Industry Relations, Office of Commercialization and Industry Engagement, Dalhousie University
Location: Atlantic Ballroom