ETWA 2023 - Day 1
The Energy Trading Week Americas Online Premiere, hosts a discussion with expert speakers from the Energy Trading Week Americas 2023 event last month, giving their insights on the biggest topics, opportunities and challenges that were explored at the in-person conference.
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Thomas Lord
Board Member, JP Morgan Center for Commodities
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Tim Berrigan
Executive Director & CEO, North American Energy Markets Association (NAEMA)
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John Scherb
Sales Director, Fidectus
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Mike Prokop
Managing Director, Digital Transformation and Sustainability, The Alliance Risk Group
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Howard Walper
CEO Americas, Commodities People
Click on a session title to watch or listen:
Breakfast Workshop Hosted by DLA Piper
The current state of the international and domestic commodities industry from a political standpoint.
Ambassador P. Michael McKinley, Senior Counselor at The Cohen Group.
Deanna Reitman, Of Counsel, Finance, Energy & Commodities Practice at DLA Piper.
We Are the Champions (executive roundtable): Why the US energy industry has the technical expertise, market savvy and corporate infrastructure to drive practical changes that reduce the industry’s carbon footprint
- Lower carbon vs. the net zero – is there a middle ground?
- Impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on the energy industry?
- Reduction through technology. Can CCU/CCS, hydrogen development and other technology achieve the balance that the fossil fuel industry needs weather the energy transition?
- The role of biofuels, LNG traditional fossil fuels in the energy transition
- Impact of increased biofuel use and EVs on traditional supply/demand, trade flows and pricing mechanisms
Howard Walper, CEO, Americas at Commodities People
Lance Titus, Managing Director at Uniper Global Commodities North America, LLC
Lynda Clemmons, Vice President of Sustainable Solutions and Innovation at NRG Energy
Mark Hughes, Senior Vice President, Commercial at Phillips 66
Thomas Smith, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Commonwealth LNG
My Future: What will the "trading shop of the future" look like?
- A new era for inflation - can today's systems adapt?
- A world of increasing volatility and extreme weather events
- Has the move to "the cloud" paid off?
- Greater emphasis on environmental metrics and accounting
- The future of “work from home”
Elizabeth Carlson, Chief Sustainability Officer at Tricon Energy
Jacqueline Hallmark, Manager, IT Cyber and Information Security at Just Energy
Keith Farris, Chief Technology Officer at Lucido
Michael Barrett, Partner at Ernst & Young, LLP
Sameer Soleja, Founder and CEO at Molecule Software
Keynote - Take a Walk on the Wild Side: Managing risk in an era of high interest, wild volatility and geopolitical uncertainty (while giving trading groups the leeway they need to succeed)
- Defining your organization’s risk appetite and risk resiliency
- Thoughts on guiding your risk group through challenging market environments
- Overall impact of the high cost of capital and what this means for investment in energy
Stephen Freeman, Chief Risk Officer at JERA Americas
- Impact of inflation and the withdrawal of traditional banks on energy companies
- Increased prioritization of ESG metrics in financing
- Bank failures: An anomaly or a portent?
- Use of trade credit insurance and surety bonds as instruments of collateral over more traditional instruments.
Nithya Venkatesan, Board Member at Committee of Chief Risk Officer
Amir Andani, Chief Risk Officer at Just Energy
Mary Frances Deibert, Vice President – Marketing & ESG at Ironwood Midstream Energy Partners
Pat McKinnon, FVP, Energy Markets and Digital Distribution at Navitas Assurance
Todd Lynady, Advisory Board Member at ITFA
Gimme Shelter: Biggest issues facing credit risk managers today
- Interest rate risk, market uncertainty, inflation
- Liquidity issues and regulatory risk
- Extreme weather events
- Energy transition
Eric Twombly, Credit Risk Manager at Golden Pass LNG
Money Talks (and other macroeconomic musings) - What are today’s economic signals telling us?
- The Treasury yield curve is a barometer of economic health
- Inversions tend to precede recession
- Currently, most dramatic inversion since the 1980s
Sean Britton, Head of Risk and Compliance at Musket
Islam Rizvanoghlu PhD, Senior Data Scientist at NRG
Mark Friedman, Principal Consultant at Aramco Trading Americas
Add it up! - Putting focus back on math in risk management
- Math drives decision making – not feelings
- New methods for calculating volatility and curves
- Advances in risk analysis using Python, AI/Machine Learning
- Risk analysis, decision support
Sid Jacobson, Vice President of Risk Management at Cleco
Chris David, Chief Investment Officer at Buffalo Bayou Resources
Dr. Vince Kaminski, Professor at Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business
Kevin Kindall, Director of Quantitative Analytics at Hartree Partners
Keynote - So Happy Together: Aligning people, systems, data, and automation
- Project scoping - questions to ask, alliances to build
- The SSS of data: Structure, Security, Scalability
- ETRM as the heart of the trade shop
- Automating processes - practical application of AI, ML and RPA
- New challenges for a new age: carbon tracking, renewables management and more
Mark Higgins, Chief Analytics Officer & Co-Founder at Beacon.io
It’s Fun to Stay at the E…T…R…M
- Build and buy? Or buy and augment?
- Big data and ETRM
- Cloud vs. on premises - exploring pros and cons
- Architectural and interoperability challenges
Dennis Hatchett, CEO at The Vessel Group
Hunter Heldt, ETRM Systems Manager at EnLink
Jose Noyes, IT Director, Trading and Risk at ENGIE
Sameer Soleja, Founder and CEO at Molecule Software
Sterling Carmean, CEO at Triarc Solutions
Thomas Fennesy, Senior ETRM Project Manager at OXY
Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto: Best practices for robotics and application of Artificial Intelligence in the trade life cycle
- Involving the right people at the right time
- Selecting the task: Where is the “low hanging fruit?”
- Choosing the most appropriate technology
- Mapping out the process
Chris Sass, Host & Founder of Insider's Guide to Energy
Hailey Funk, Manager - Digital Enablement at TC Energy
Jay Bhatty, CEO & Founder at NatGasHub.com
Marc Lefebvre, CTO at ClearDox
Reginald Wade, Futurist & Director at Veritas Total Solutions
Rezoan Ahmed Shuvro PhD, Senior Manager, Data Science at SB Energy
Come Together: Designing data structures to enable AI implementation
Chris Sass, Host & Founder of Insider's Guide to Energy
Cade Burks, Vice Chairman Of The Board at NAESB (North American Energy Standards Board)
Jacqueline Hallmark, Manager, IT Cyber and Information Security at Just Energy
Luke Fangman, Energy Director, Data & AI at Microsoft
Keynote: Money Changes Everything: Catalyzing clean energy markets by seizing U.S. climate stimulus?
- Overview of major U.S. once-in-a-generation packages (Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 and Inflation Reduction Act of 2022)
- catalyzing a diversified portfolio of qualifying clean energy investments
- Tax incentive boosters, state policy matters, and regulatory considerations
- First round of U.S. funding outcomes
- Positioning for second round of funding opportunities
Kimberly Ann Johnston, Founder and CEO at NextGen Energy Partners
All Day and All of the Night: Working the kinks out of 24/7 renewables
- Renewable mix
- Demand response
- Transmission constraints
- Storage
Sarp Ozkan, VP Commercial Product at Enverus
The State of the Art in Renewable Energy Risk Mitigation: A Case Study
The ongoing transition toward renewable energy is leaving power producers, load serving entities, traders, and other electricity market participants more exposed to "intermittency risk" than ever before. Because of their non-dispatchability, wind and solar assets have significantly different financial and risk profiles than their thermal generator forbears. Add to that the tightening negative covariance between generation and price as renewable penetration continues to increase, and you have a recipe for accelerated losses precisely when generation is highest.
So how do you mitigate risk for an asset you can't control? In this talk, we present a case study focused on strategies for hedging solar assets in different regions of the continental United States. We explore optimal sizing of various types of financial hedges (e.g., block vs. shaped) and also optimize the sizing of a battery storage asset co-located with the solar facility, discussing the analytical approach and comparing/contrasting outcomes across strategies and regions. This talk will help participants:
- Learn best practices for hedge and battery sizing relative to renewable generation facilities.
- Understand the key drivers of value and risk for renewable energy assets and contracts.
- Recognize the essential role of analytics in managing today's complex energy portfolios.
Brock Mosovsky, Co-Founder and VP, Analytics at cQuant.io
Metal Health: A spotlight on battery and rare earth metals
- Transition metals overview and applications
- Current market dynamics and trade flows
- Policy, innovation and beyond
Amogh Patil, Market Risk Analyst at Hartree Partners
Rock down to Electric Avenue: And find a huge battery! Trading and risk around battery storage
- Hedging, structuring and tax credit opportunities
- Modelling battery energy storage systems
Timothy Berrigan, Executive Director and CEO at North American Energy Markets Association (NAEMA)
Jazib Hasan, Managing Director at EIG Global Energy Partners
Nitin Kumar Sinha, Head of Risk at AES Clean Energy
William "Bull" Flaherty II, CEO at Eligius Power
The Times They Are A-Changing (be prepared!): Managing risk around renewable energy assets
- How is the energy transition changing risk management requirements?
- Complexities of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)
- Tracking positions in a diverse renewables portfolio
- Tactics for hedging renewables
Timothy Berrigan, Executive Director and CEO at North American Energy Markets Association (NAEMA)
Brock Mosovsky, Co-Founder and VP, Analytics at cQuant.io
Bryan Bonner, Managing Director, Commodities Markets at Ernst & Young, LLP
Erick Marquardt de Araujo, Head of Renewable Portfolio Management at ENGIE
I've Got the Power: PPAs and vPPAs
- How corporations are using PPAs to reduce their carbon footprint
- PPA market conditions – risking prices, shrinking availability
- Challenges to renewable project development (supply chain, labor force, cost)
- How might the IRA help?
Tom Lord, Board Member at JP Morgan Center for Commodities
Fabiana Pasquot Polido, CRO - Chief Revenue Officer - Renewables at Omega Renewables
Mariana Fulan, Renewable Energy Origination Manager at Omega Energia
Pat McKinnon, FVP, Energy Markets and Digital Distribution at Navitas Assurance
Terry Embury, VP, Head of Trading and Market Operations at AES Clean Energy
ETWA 2023 - Day 2
Click on a session title to watch or listen:
Somebody's Watching Me: CFTC oversight of the VCM
(Fireside Chat)
Tom Lord, Board Member at JP Morgan Center for Commodities
Devin Cain, Trial Attorney at Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
Under Pressure – Carbon capture sequestration/utilization
- Is CCU under-invested?
- What does CCU/S mean for traditional fossil fuels producers?
- CCU and bio-based fuels – using CO2 for use in synthetic fuels?
- Is CCUS the only path to a completely carbon neutral energy industry?
- Major projects in development
Howard Walper, CEO, Americas at Commodities People
Macgill James, Director CO2 Supply at TES
Renee Pirrong, Vice President of Business Development at HIF Global
Upendra Prasad, Facilities Engineer at Marathon Oil
Jumping Jack Flash, It’s a Gas Gas Gas (And so is hydrogen!): Is Houston poised to be the nation’s hydrogen hub? Exploring the challenges and opportunities in Houston’s burgeoning industry
Michael Prokop, Managing Director, Digital Transformation and Sustainability at The Alliance Risk Group
Alan Hayes, Head of Energy Transition Pricing at Platts, S&P Global Commodity Insights
Brett Perlman, CEO at Center for Houston's Future
David Maher, Clean Hydrogen & Carbon Capture, Americas Large Projects at Linde
Women's Breakfast Briefing: It’s a Commodity World – Aligning, Navigating and Allocating Resources
- Navigating Regulatory Landscape in the New Era
- Current Environment and Outlook of the Commodity Market
- Nuclear Energy – Design & Implementation of Nuclear Plants
- Trends and M&A Activity in the Energy Transition Space
Nina Skinner, Partner at Blank Rome
Kara Pelecky, Chief Information Officer at ABS
Lidiya Deanne, Director (Stout) and President Elect (WEN) at Stout & President Elect for WEN
Lina Chambers, General Counsel at Novum Energy
Volunteers of America Pt. 1: Credit quality, standardization, regulation
- Credit quality
- Efforts at standardization
- Progress towards international program/s
Alan Hayes, Head of Energy Transition Pricing at Platts, S&P Global Commodity Insights
Chelsea Bryant, Managing Director, Trading, Global Markets at BMO Radicle
Devin Cain, Trial Attorney at Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
Erika Anderson, Chief Legal Officer at RenewWest
Farhan Ahmed, Chief Program Management Officer at Verra
Volunteers of America PT 2: Voluntary Offset Market Dynamics
- Supply and demand outlook for carbon credits
- Pricing carbon
- International trading
Chelsea Bryant, Managing Director, Trading, Global Markets at BMO Radicle
Alan Hayes, Head of Energy Transition Pricing at Platts, S&P Global Commodity Insights
Benoit Tramontini, Senior Trader – Environmental Products at Act Commodities
James Row, Founder & Managing Partner at Entoro
Eye in the Sky: Trade Surveillance and Compliance
- Keeping up with technology
- Impact of recent CFTC enforcements –
- Challenges of managing compliance in a work-from-home environment
- SEC and FERC initiatives
Jamila Piracci, Principal at Roos Innovations
Matthew Moore, Associate Director, Americas Lead for Commodity Surveillance at Macquarie Group
Swati Sachdev, Senior Compliance Advisor at Hartree Partners
Toby Kearn, Chief Executive Officer at K3 by Broadpeak
We are the World: Navigating multiple regulatory regimes in international trading
- Comparative look at the regulatory environments in the EU, UK and USA – what does an international trader need to know?
- EMIR Refit – How will this impact US trading companies
- What's on the horizon
Tom Lord, Board Member at JP Morgan Center for Commodities
Diane Zeiler, Head of Compliance - US at Hartree Partners
Rahim Kabani, Director at Essentia Advisory Partners
Sulmaan Lateef, Associate Director Risk Management Group, Compliance at Macquarie