2027 Northwest Renewable Hydrogen Conference

Presented by the Center for Hydrogen Safety, the conference addresses practical hydrogen safety challenges, regulations, codes and standards, and applied safety practices. Themes include process safety; quantitative risk analysis; explosions and hazards; materials integrity; hydrogen production and electrolysis; storage; transport and pipelines; fueling and mobility; incidents and lessons learned; public safety; emerging technology; and digital tools. Program topics include updates to CGA G-5.5 for hydrogen vent systems; compressed-hydrogen leak-rate requirements and testing practices; OSHA PSM and EPA RMP applicability and exemptions; hydrogen safety education; ultrasonic gas-leak detection; full-scale liquid-hydrogen tank failure testing; and detonation transmission in hydrogen-air mixtures. Other sessions address safer control architectures for hydrogen production, safety planning for large-scale projects and hydrogen hubs, abnormal-operation decision-making, loss-of-primary-containment indicators, green-hydrogen deployment at a public utility, risk assessment across H2–NH3–H2 supply chains, HyRAM+ modeling, operational data, vehicle-labeling standards, and hydrogen locomotive development.

A member-focused policy program combining legislative meetings with panels on state energy and cleantech policy. Possible panel topics include policies supporting large-scale campus decarbonization efforts and workforce development. Panel 1 addresses Big Things on the Move: Policies to Consider for Current and Emerging Energy Projects, with Dave McCormack, CEO, Clean Energy Supplier Alliance; Julianne Mattecheck, Fabrication Salesperson, UMC, Inc.; and Ryan Calkins, Commissioner, Port of Seattle. Panel 2 addresses Carbon Management and Growing Energy Demand, with Steven Schueneman, Manager, Emerging Technologies and Sustainability, Puget Sound Energy; Meghan Gavin, General Counsel and Director, Carbon Containment Lab; and Mike Robinson, Co-Founder, PacClean. Innovation cluster insights and moderation are provided by Mel Clark, President & CEO, CleanTech Alliance, and Cassie Losey, Director of Governmental Affairs, Port of Benton. Reception remarks are provided by Nora Hawkins, Interim Energy Policy Director, Washington State Department of Commerce. The program includes legislator meetings with Sen. Sharon Shewmake, Rep. Alex Ramel, and Rep. Clyde Shavers.

The seminar covers fuel cell and hydrogen products, technical and market research, policy updates, and commercialization strategies across applications and market sectors.

An intensive workshop on projected electricity demand and expanding the supply of natural resources used to generate power. Topics include natural gas, geothermal development and repurposing oil and gas assets; hydrogen, uranium, lithium and critical minerals; and water, environmental, storage, site-selection and regulatory considerations. Program discussions cover grid shortfalls and raw materials for electricity generation, solutions for increasing electricity supply, geothermal, and technology including ORC, sensors and small nuclear reactors. Other sessions address AI prompts for grid and behind-the-meter planning; lithium direct lithium extraction (DLE) and hydrogen technologies; regulatory and legislative factors affecting geothermal, critical minerals, low-carbon energy, grids and data centers; and mining and oil-and-gas intersections, including near-surface imaging and copper for electricity transmission. The program also includes an AI prompt clinic focused on water, the environment, science and regulations.

The forum examines North American power markets across renewables, conventional generation, utilities, data centers, commercial and industrial offtakers, and government. Topics include energy-policy consistency and consequential legislation; the effects of tariffs, tax-credit regulation, geopolitical conflict, interest rates, and industry consolidation on costs and demand; FERC interconnection reform and transmission investment; and whether domestic solar and storage manufacturing can compete under changing trade and incentive rules. The program also addresses data-center and AI-driven load growth, local opposition and project approvals, equipment and workforce constraints, powered land, gas paired with battery storage, battery operations and project economics, and mergers and acquisitions in power development. Other sessions examine hyperscaler nuclear strategies, clean firm and dispatchable power, long-duration storage, geothermal, small modular reactors, gas with CCS, aging renewable assets, behind-the-meter storage, large-load flexibility, and utility–data center collaboration. Roundtable topics include understanding FEOC and tariffs, overcoming local opposition, operations and maintenance, flexibility programs, EPC partnerships, and behind-the-meter projects.

NARUC’s capstone meeting includes a year-end summary from NARUC President Ann Rendahl, topics across utility sectors, and installation of the organization’s new president and officers. The program covers utility affordability, customer assistance, ratemaking, large-load growth, data centers, demand response, and flexible load; transmission capacity, advanced transmission technologies, permitting reform, and infrastructure investment; coal-plant options, nuclear energy, natural gas, and pipeline safety; and grid resilience, distributed energy resources, virtual power plants, battery storage, and community microgrids. Other sessions address AI-enabled extreme-weather preparedness, cybersecurity in water and wastewater systems, operational technology for gas and water leak detection, telecommunications network transitions, utility data and customer service infrastructure, water infrastructure investment, federal-state energy regulation, and regulatory impacts of proposed permitting legislation. A workshop examines methods for evaluating advanced transmission technologies, including dynamic line ratings, advanced power flow controls, and advanced conductors. The agenda also includes committee business meetings and general sessions on utility infrastructure resilience and community-based resilience investments. Some meetings are closed to nonmembers or restricted to invitees.

The program examines North American advanced battery markets and technologies across grid-connected storage, electric vehicles, heavy-duty transportation, data centers, robotics, defense, and aerospace. Market briefings address light- and heavy-duty EVs, data centers and the grid, robotics, aerospace and defense applications, energy materials, and battery recycling and second-life markets. Plenary sessions cover data-center energy storage, foreign battery manufacturers in the U.S., and EV manufacturers navigating battery supply-chain gaps. Impact Sessions address non-lithium and emerging chemistries; defense batteries and domestic supply-chain security; truck, rail, and transit electrification; battery materials and the missing pCAM/CAM/AAM midstream; battery-technology financing; U.S. battery-materials mining; robotics and aerospace; domestic battery-manufacturing equipment supply chains; next-generation batteries; Chinese battery and technology supply relationships; and digitalization and AI in battery manufacturing. Other program elements include Community Action Labs, member company and research-institution presentations, and a closing roundtable on the future of battery technology. Featured program speakers include Bob Galyen, NAATBatt International’s Chief Technology Officer; M. Stanley Whittingham, NAATBatt’s Chief Science Officer and Nobel laureate; and David Hochschild, Chair of the California Energy Commission.

The program covers residential, commercial and industrial, and utility-scale solar and storage, with discussion of tax-credit deadlines, tariff and sourcing rules, permitting reform, interconnection, storage financing, and data-center-driven demand. The keynote “State of the Industry: A Candid Look at Where Solar and Storage Stand” examines policy volatility, tax credits, tariffs, and market consolidation. Another keynote features a live recording of the Energy Empire podcast about forces reshaping America’s clean energy buildout. “Designing Commercial-Scale PV: Three-Phase, the NEC, and Interconnection” addresses service configurations, conductor and overcurrent-protection sizing, and Article 705 interconnection. “The Mid-Market Interconnection Bottleneck” considers delays for mid-sized projects, utility perspectives, and possible reforms. “The New Rules for EPCs, Post-ITC” examines compressed schedules, supply constraints, milestone risks, and the post-safe-harbor landscape for utility-scale and C&I projects. Storage and grid topics include FEOC requirements, OEM and warranty structures, augmentation, and revenue assumptions in project financing; FERC Order 2222 and state virtual power plant mandates; and BESS fire-safety planning under UL 9540A and NFPA 855, including early engagement with authorities having jurisdiction. Other sessions address peak-demand revenue from capacity, ancillary services, demand response, and arbitrage; ERCOT load growth and large-load interconnection; and financing, interconnection, and construction for data-center power projects. Workshops cover commercial PV fundamentals and O&M practices including NFPA 70B, infrared thermography, and PV ground-fault troubleshooting. Roundtables address operational and business challenges involving supply chains, policy, financing, and market access. Conference passes cover sessions, roundtables, keynotes, and Braindate; workshops require separate purchase, while Exhibit Hall Only passes include access to keynotes.

The program examines Texas power policy, market design, infrastructure development, project investment, and operations. Shared plenary sessions address the 90th Legislative Session and SB 6, PUCT rulemaking, ERCOT’s Batch Zero large-load interconnection process, load growth, data-center power supply, 765-kV transmission, siting and permitting, and local engagement. Headline speakers include State Representative Todd Hunter of the Texas House of Representatives (District 32) and Commissioner Courtney Hjaltman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Day Two has concurrent ERCOT Market Reforms and Investment & Asset Optimization tracks. Topics include resource adequacy, transmission cost allocation beyond 4CP, data-center development, battery state-of-charge rules, cybersecurity and energy security, renewable project strategy, dispatchable generation, electricity affordability, demand response, distributed energy resources and ADER, and inverter-based resource ride-through requirements. Other sessions examine battery project economics, powered-land siting factors such as water and cooling, and strategies for optimizing assets in changing market conditions. The closing plenaries cover advanced nuclear, geothermal and other low-emission dispatchable generation; project finance amid tax-credit, FEOC/PFE, procurement, interest-rate, EPC-cost and tariff risks; and energy-asset M&A and deal trends.