Washington Transmission: Why, How and for Whom?

The program includes technical sessions on safety, extreme conditions, interference, surface preparation and coatings, cathodic protection, onshore and maritime applications, and above- and below-grade topics. It also includes industry discussions and panels. The welcome address is by AMPP CEO Alan Thomas, followed by an industry keynote.

The event combines a briefing, interactive Q&A, and one-on-one conversations on approaching DARPA, positioning technologies and capabilities, and exploring opportunities to work with the agency. It is aimed at founders, technical leaders, and business development professionals at companies developing technologies and products with potential defense applications. Richard Fuentes’ work as a DARPA program advisor includes helping adapt DARPA technologies to Army needs and incorporating warfighter input into technology development.

The August 31 member sessions cover RHA advocacy priorities, proposed Washington and Oregon legislative priorities, technical committee work, and a 2026 electrolytic hydrogen case study on long-duration seasonal storage using hydropower, electrolyzers, pipeline connections, and fuel-cell power production. The technical update also addresses waste-to-energy pathways, including technologies for producing hydrogen from waste feedstocks. Other sessions cover transportation-market development, Toyota fuel-cell solutions, and member project and commercial updates. A Douglas County PUD facility tour focuses on electrolyzer systems, hydrogen storage infrastructure, operational safety, and deployment in rural and utility-scale settings. The conference program examines state and local hydrogen policy, Washington’s market strategy, California infrastructure lessons, customer-centered transportation solutions, hydrogen fueling networks, workforce and economic development, and regional transportation markets. Sessions also address electrolysis opportunities amid generation constraints and rising power prices; hydrogen production from wastewater, forestry biomass, and landfill gas; and local innovations for electric and gas systems. The final program day covers alternative fuels and global energy markets, public-private partnerships for transportation infrastructure and fuels, climate policy and energy affordability, and emerging energy technologies including hydrogen, geothermal, nuclear, and biomass. A vehicle and equipment expo and a community celebration are also listed. The August 31 sessions are for members; the facility tour is open to the public, and the community celebration is free and open to the public.

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.

The program focuses on transmission and power markets, bringing together finance, technology, and utility leaders. Sessions include: • “1920s Vision: Is Grid Planning Ready for the Future?” — transmission planning reforms under Order No. 1920, expansion efforts, implementation results, and where transmission is being built. • “Capacity Markets: Diagnosing a Chronic Condition” — whether current energy and capacity-market constructs can be rehabilitated or require an overhaul. • “Power Struggle: Paying for the Grid of the Future” — funding interregional transmission, grid grants, price-collared compensation structures, the Transmission Facilitation Program, a proposed transmission investment tax credit, and transmission’s capacity value. • “Gridmaxxing: ATTs and the Art of Doing More With What You've Got” — deployment of advanced transmission technologies, implementation barriers, line-loss savings, and resilience benefits. • “Cost Allocation: An Immovable Object Meets an Unstoppable Force” — cost allocation for large loads, jurisdictional disputes, co-location and proximate resources, broader grid expansion, curtailable large load, clean energy, and storage. Named speakers include Laura Rauch of MISO; Aftab Khan of PJM; Suzanne Glatz of Glatz Energy Consulting LLC; Katie Siegner of RMI; David Lapp of the Maryland Office of Peoples Council; Evelyn Robinson of MAREC; Jennie Chen of RAP; Joshua Macey of Yale Law School; Madeline Gould Laughlin of Grid United; Brooke Keene of Southwest Power Pool; Zach Zimmerman of Grid Strategies LLC; Theodore Paradise of CTC Global; Georg Rute of Gridraven; Carla Pinzon of Expand Power Technologies, Inc.; Bryn Baker of CEBA; Jeff Bladen of Verrus; Matt Christiansen of Wilson Sonsini; Morgan Sipple of the Data Center Coalition; and Craig Sundstrom of Amazon Web Services.

The hearing concerns Idaho Power’s petition to evaluate its Class Cost-of-Service methodology, consider alternative Class Cost-of-Service studies, and determine cost-of-service considerations for new large-load customers. Parties may present proposals, witnesses, testimony, and exhibits, with questions following presentations and witness testimony. The public may listen to or watch the proceedings.

Discussion focuses on delivering new nuclear projects on private and federal sites across the United States. The forum brings together local government and community leaders with federal agencies and industry, including data center companies, host communities, DOE, NRC, and state and Tribal governments. Topics include nuclear energy advancements, business opportunities, project implementation plans, challenges, partnerships, and economic development.

The agenda covers economic development, recent business expansions, and the future of energy production and costs. Sessions address women's experiences and challenges in manufacturing; the 2026 General Election and its potential effects on the 2027 legislative session and WVMA legislative agenda; and Helsing, an autonomous systems manufacturer based in Berkeley County. Other discussions cover long-term employer-employee relationships and retaining a multigenerational workforce; moving a new plant from prototype to full-scale production, including permitting, supply-chain challenges, and workforce development; and West Virginia University's NSF RETI grant, an industrial energy innovation hub focused on grid management, storage, cybersecurity, and reliability, along with programs from the WVU Industrial Extension. A final energy-sector discussion examines policy and public opinion on maintaining versus pursuing new markets and the effects of an anti-growth stance on development and economic growth in West Virginia.

The program covers utility grid modernization, distribution planning, ADMS and DERMS deployment, distributed energy resource management, advanced metering, battery storage, microgrids, and data-center load growth. Sessions address grid reliability and resilience, wildfire risk, cybersecurity and OT security, AI applications in planning and operations, utility communications, affordability, workforce development, and policy and regulation. Named program items include “How Are Utility CEOs Driving the Age of Acceleration?”, “How Will the Data Center Boom Define the Evolution of the Grid?”, and “US DOE Grid Modernization Investment Framework – An Effective Cost Justification for Building the Grid of the Future.”

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.

California’s growing demand for power, flexibility, and speed-to-power is placing pressure on energy systems. The event covers effects on transmission and distribution infrastructure, and strategies and policies to address transmission hurdles, interconnection bottlenecks, and reliability challenges. Panel topics include energy demand from data centers, EV infrastructure, and electrification; grid access and infrastructure needs in the San Diego region; battery energy storage as critical infrastructure and how to meet storage demand; and political challenges and state and local efforts related to clean-energy leadership.