Shruti Ladge
PacifiCorp

Ashlee Balignasay
PacifCorp

Eric Thatcher
Wheeler Machinery

DESCRIPTION

Electrical energy consumption is growing, and the power grid is constrained. This session will focus on the value of existing interconnection rights and how they can be utilized with co-located generation and storage resources.

This Panel is within the Technical, Dam Safety, and Engineering Track at the conference. 
 
This session is a 201-level discussion for those looking to take a deeper dive into this subject matter. 

Moderator:

Moderator:
Shruti Ladge, Senior Project Manager, Resource Development, PacifiCorp

Panelists:

• Ashlee Mei Balignasay, Engineer I, PacifiCorp - Batteries at Hydro
• Eric Thatcher, PSD Sales Manager, Wheeler Power Systems
• Scott Gillespie, Principal Civil Engineer, Eugene Water and Electric Board - Resistive Load Banks

Speaker Bios:

• Shruti Ladge is a Renewable Energy professional with background in project development, due diligence. She has been with PacifiCorp for 5 years and prior to that worked with DNV GL.
• Ashlee Mei Balignasay is an electrical engineer on the Renewable Energy Development team at PacifiCorp, based in Portland, Oregon. With a year and a half of experience at PacifiCorp, Ashlee focuses on advancing renewable energy integration into the power grid by developing new generation projects and optimizing existing interconnection capacity.
• Eric Thatcher has 30+ years of experience developing project-oriented technical solutions that address both operational needs and financial objectives. Eric currently manages the sales team at Wheeler Power Systems which provides standby, temporary and prime power generation solutions to include battery storage and microgrid applications. Prior to joining Wheeler, Eric spent ten years at Siemens managing study teams that develop Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPC) which include a wide range of energy generation and conservation technologies. Eric is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) with a B.S. in Business from the University of Phoenix, and an M.B.A. from the University of Utah.  
• Scott Gillespie is a Principal Civil Engineer with the Eugene Water and Electric Board. He is a graduate of Cal Poly Humboldt with a degree in Environmental Resource Engineering. He is a Professional Engineer with more than 25 years of experience in project and program management in a variety of sectors including transportation, utilities, municipal public works, land development, and hydropower. He has managed and delivered a variety of projects from concept to construction and startup. He currently manages 50 million dollars in Hydro capital projects and contracts.