MICROGRID INSTITUTE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Principals and Associates Team
Job Titles:
- New York Public Service Commission Chair
New York Public Service Commission Chair Audrey Zibelman presented the keynote address, discussing the PSC's plans for "animating real markets" in the retail energy industry.
Gov. Martin O'Malley appointed Microgrid Institute Director Michael Burr to serve on the Resiliency through Microgrids Task Force, which was established in February 2014 and convened several meetings in Annapolis during the month of March. A broad range of microgrid market stakeholders were represented on the Task Force, demonstrating the state's interest in encouraging timely development of public-purpose microgrids -- i.e., those that provide vital community services.
Additionally, the Microgrid Institute team drew upon the insights and contributions of more than 30 subject matter experts, from organizations ranging from the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to Connecticut Light & Power and Xcel Energy.
"The Minnesota Microgrids report examines a range of issues affecting microgrid projects, with a special focus on those serving energy assurance and renewable energy goals," Burr said. "In addition to helping Minnesota policymakers and stakeholders better understand microgrids and their drivers, we hope the Minnesota Microgrids report also will assist in efforts in other markets to create a more resilient and sustainable energy system."
In addition to analyzing the history, status, and outlook for microgrids, the study provided policy recommendations intended to remove unnecessary barriers to microgrids and facilitate their optimization as part of the integrated utility grid.
■ Setting and clarifying the role of microgrids in the State's policy vision and priorities, and integrating that role in regional planning;
Job Titles:
- New York State Energy Research and Development Authority ( NYSERDA )
Job Titles:
- Member of the Principals and Associates Team
- Senior Counsel
- Partner, Thompson Hine LLP, and Washington Counsel
- Washington Counsel to
Mr. Zimmer is Washington Counsel to Microgrid Institute, and previously served as senior counsel with Thompson Hine LLP, practicing in the firm's Energy unit in the Corporate Transactions Group in Washington, D.C. He focused on natural gas, electricity, water and utility regulation, dispersed energy, cogeneration and micro grids, renewables and environment, and energy corporate acquisition and project finance transactions nationwide. He has been involved since 1985 in mergers, acquisitions, construction, development and project financing assignments in the non-utility generation, renewables, natural gas and electric, rural cooperatives, clean tech energy, emissions trading, and manufacturing sectors. Some of these transactions involve financings for some of the largest undertakings in the United States in these industries, with a composite value in his career exceeding $15 billion. He has over a decade's international experience on energy and renewables transactions in over 25 countries, and has served on the development of energy and infrastructure projects in over 35 states in almost 40 years of service.
He served as national co-chair of the American Bar Association Renewables and Distributed Energy Committee and the ABA's Energy & Environmental Markets and Finance Committees from 2008-2012. He has served in various capacities this past decade with the Capital Markets Partnership, the USGBC LEED Energy & Atmospheric TAG Committee, Americans for Community Development, the American Council for Renewable Energy, the Voinovich School of Leadership & Public Affairs and the Russ School of Engineering at Ohio University and the School of Business at Providence College. He has been a noted author and speaker on energy, utility, and environmental issues since 1978, and a lecturer and guest speaker at several colleges and universities.
Mr. Zimmer is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, and focuses on development and finance issues on projects in North America, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Executive Director
- Member of the Principals and Associates Team
- Principal
- Author
- Longtime Energy Industry Editor and Analyst
Michael T. Burr initiates and leads collaborative work among multidisciplinary groups of subject matter experts and leaders. He has produced more than 20 volumes of energy industry journals; participated in numerous public events and seminars; and led formative industry initiatives to accelerate adoption of advanced energy technologies.
Michael founded Burr Energy LLC dba Microgrid Institute in 2013, and Microgrid Finance Group in 2016. As Executive Director and Principal Consultant, he coordinates multidisciplinary work addressing development and operation of energy microgrids. He represents Microgrid Institute in stakeholder engagements, and manages team members, collaborators, and advisers in a variety of projects, from market studies to microgrid system procurement.
Michael began his career in 1988 on the editorial staff of Independent Energy magazine and the Independent Energy Forum, serving developers and finance executives in the independent power producer (IPP) industry. In the 1990s, after serving as communications director for the National Independent Energy Producers trade association (succeeded by EPSA), he began an independent analysis and consulting practice that numbered among its clients IBM, Barclays PLC, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, and U.S. Generating Co. In the late 1990s he served as editor of PennWell's Electric Light & Power magazine. In the 2000s he served as editor-at-large for Inside Counsel magazine. He joined Public Utilities Reports in 2001, and from September 2007 through April 2014 he served as editor-in-chief of Public Utilities Fortnightly, the journal of record for the U.S. investor-owned utility industry. He also served as associate publisher from 2009 through 2014.
Michael is a highly sought public speaker, lecturer, and facilitator, and regularly contributes his time and expertise to industry associations and community service organizations. He lives and works in Central Minnesota with his wife of 31 years and their three children.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Principals and Associates Team
- Senior Associate
- Project Associate
For more than 25 years Peter Douglass has provided strategic guidance, project management, and technical marketing expertise for a variety of clients and employers. His experience includes the position of Executive Director at the World Economic Development Congress, including an annual event in Washington, D.C., comprised of 3,000 senior executives from project development companies, utilities, project finance companies, and various government and regulatory agencies from around the world.
In addition, he served as Marketing Director of PennWell's Energy & Utility Group and Independent Energy magazine. Both positions involved producing power project development conferences in India and Turkey and the United States. He also has conducted more than 15 regional market research studies for a major manufacturing conglomerate and provided analysis and recommendations around their market expansion strategy. Educated in the United Kingdom, he now resides in Minnesota. He is a member of the UK-based Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Background: The Olney Town Center microgrid R&D project team - which includes Microgrid Institute, Green Energy Corp., Schneider Electric, North Carolina State University, and Pepco Holdings Inc. - is working to research, design, simulate, and test advanced control systems for a prospective community microgrid at Olney in Montgomery County, approximately 20 miles from Washington, D.C. Additionally, the project will compare and contrast the Olney model against a second prospective microgrid deployment in Prince George's County.
Job Titles:
- Director of the University of St. Thomas MSEE Program
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director, DER and Microgrids, DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability