Recorded live from the show floor at DistribuTECH 2025 in Dallas, this episode of the EPRI Current examines microgrids and how utilities are using them to explore back-up power availability to improve system reliability. Jackie Baum from EPRI and Ryan Boudreau from Hydro One networks discuss the challenges and opportunities for microgrids in local communities with host Samantha Gilman in the DistribuTECH studio.

Guests:

Jackie Baum, Sr. Manager DERMS & Microgrids, EPRI

Ryan Boudreau, Sr. Manager Distribution and P&C, Hydro One Networks

Watch Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3ewkmpIrjY

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LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/

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EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com

Host Samantha Gilman explores the energy innovation landscape in Europe with her guests Consuelo Fierro from National Grid, and Mark McGranaghan from EPRI. They discuss the prevalent innovation culture driven by EU and UK-funded projects, European innovation working groups and initiatives, the challenges and successes of National Grid's innovation efforts, and the transformative impact of AI on the energy sector.

Guests:

• Consuelo Fierro, Project Manager at Innovation Management Office, National Grid
• Mark McGranaghan EPRI Fellow, EPRI Europe

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.

Follow EPRI:

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/

Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews

EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com

Join EPRI experts Stephanie Shaw and Lakshmi Srinivasan of EPRI’s Energy Storage research area, and Southern Company’s Kieran Claffey to learn how research, risk assessment and analysis continues to improve the safety of battery storage technology and operations. As battery storage energy grows across the globe, with the vast majority of deployments being lithium ion, what have we learned about the safety of battery storage as both a source and as part of a larger electric system?

Find out more about EPRI’s Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Failure Incident Database, initiated in 2021. It tracks incidents involving BESS systems, providing valuable data on system age, manufacturer, chemistry, and application.

For more information:

• EPRI Failure Incident Database: BESS Failure Incident Database - EPRI Storage Wiki
• EPRI Whitepaper: Analysis of Failure Root Cause: Insights from EPRI’s Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Failure Incident Database: Analysis of Failure Root Cause

Guests:

• Stephanie Shaw, Technical Executive, Energy Storage, EPRI
• Lakshmi Srinivasan, Principal Team Lead, Energy Storage, EPRI
• Kieran Claffey, Senior rResearch Engineer in the Research Environment and Sustainability Group of Southern Co., Industry Lead, Safety and Grid Security Tiger Team for the Long Duration Energy Storage National Consortium

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.

Follow EPRI:

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/

Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews

EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com

Teach a person to fish, and they’ll teach the rest of us how to innovate to preserve the species. Hydropower is one of the world’s oldest low-carbon sources of electricity generation. And as long as there have been dams, there have been migrating fish needing to swim upstream past to spawn. Join EPRI Current host Samantha Gilman and her three guests as they discuss testing the new Fishheart fish passage technology in North America. Developed by fishermen in Finland, the technology was tested in North America at the Santee Cooper utility as part of a Department of Energy research project supervised by EPRI.

Links and Resources Mentioned:

• EPRI Journal, “Fish Tech” January 2025: Fish Tech - EPRI Journal | EPRI Journal
• YouTube: “Protecting Fish at Hydropower Facilities”: V86b1hpzax-B34-WBNR-16x9-205s-YT-Charlotte-nooneseemstoknow-Multi transition July2024 Ad 2--OG

Guests:

• Mika Sohlberg, Co-Founder, Fishheart
• Michael Melchers, FERC Administrator, Santee Cooper
• Paul Jacobson, Technical Executive, generation sector, EPRI

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.

Follow EPRI:

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/

Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews

EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com

In this episode we explore how quantum computing could help solve key fusion hurdles—from plasma control to materials engineering—bringing us closer to a commercially viable fusion reactor.

Join host Samantha Gilman and EPRI experts Diana Grandas, Emma Wong, and Dr. Charlyne Smith as they discuss EPRI’s work in fusion innovation, the intersection of quantum mechanics and energy research, and what’s needed to push fusion from the lab to the power grid.

Also discussed: the @EPRINews 2025 Quantum Challenge Fusion Edition, an international contest aimed at finding groundbreaking quantum computing solutions for fusion technology.

Learn more at: https://aqora.io/epri-fusion-quantum-challenge-2025#about-event

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.

Follow EPRI:

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/

Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews

EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com

In this episode, EPRI experts examine a new corner of the energy industry: agrivoltaics. Agrivoltaics is when solar PV panels are installed above crops so that the same land can be simultaneously used for energy and food production.

Learn from EPRI experts, Terry Jennings and Bailie Neary, on how EPRI is helping utilities explore this emerging practice. Plus, you’ll hear an overview of agrivoltaics today, and where it may go in the future thanks to AI.

Learn more in this recent EPRI Journal article: https://eprijournal.com/a-marriage-of-sun-farmland-and-technology/

Guests: TERRY JENNINGS - Team Leader for Environmental Aspects of Wind & Solar at EPRI, and BAILIE NEARY - Researcher for Energy Systems & Climate Analysis Group at EPRI

Learn more at EPRI.com

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.

Follow EPRI:

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/

Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews

EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com

Welcome to our first podcast episode of 2025. We’re taking a look back at 2024 and sharing the highlights. You’ll hear segments from several episodes providing insights from industry experts and addressing topics such as AI and cyber security, electrification, nuclear innovation, and the future of the energy workforce. Join us as we reflect on the best from 2024 and get ready for an exciting lineup of new EPRI Current episodes in 2025. Listen in every other week as we bring you the latest research, industry insights, and more.

2024 Guests Featured in this “Best of” Episode:

Ambition into Action Series:

• Dan Moneghan, EPRI, Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycles

24. From Emissions to Solutions: Unpacking the IRA’s Impact on Climate Change

• Dr. John Bistline, Program Manager of EPRI’s Energy Systems and Climate Analysis Group
• Dr. Jesse Jenkins, Assistant Professor of the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy & Environment at Princeton University

31. Practical Realities of the Clean Energy Transition

• Neva Espinoza, EPRI Senior Vice President, Energy Supply and Low Carbon Resources

38. Electrifying the Future of Fleets

• Britta Gross, EPRI Director of Transportation
• Diego Quevedo, Daimler Truck’s Charging Infrastructure Sr. Engineer & Utilities Lead

39. AI and Generative AI: Potential Cybersecurity Impacts to the Energy Industry?

• Jason Hollern, EPRI Cybersecurity Technical Executive Marc Spieler, Senior Managing Director for Energy, NVIDIA

40. From Reactors to Roles: The Future of Nuclear Power

• Kimberly Cook-Nelson, Chief Nuclear Officer, Entergy
• Steve Swilley, Chief Nuclear Officer, EPRI

42. From the Gulf: Powering the Future

• Eng. Ahmed Ebrahim, CEO, GCCIA
• Daniel Brooks, EPRI Senior Vice President, Energy Delivery and Customer Solutions

Learn more at EPRI.com

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.

Follow EPRI:

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/

Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews

EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com

In this EPRI Current episode, host Bill Florence is joined by experts Curtiss Fox, Nikolay Dimitrov, and Clément Jacquet, who share insights on global offshore wind development, the HIPERWIND project, and other initiatives. Discussions highlight the industry’s goals, challenges, technologies, and the importance of reducing uncertainty and cost and underscores the holistic approach and integrated design required to optimize offshore wind energy for future scalability.

Guests:

Dr. Curtiss Fox, Senior Technical Leader - Renewables - EPRI,

Nikolay Dimitrov, Senior Scientist/Researcher - Technical University of Denmark's Department of Wind and Energy Systems

Dr. Clément Jacquet, Engineer/Scientist, EPRI

Learn more about HIPERWIND: https://europe.epri.com/project/hiperwind

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.

Follow EPRI:

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/

Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews

EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com