Panel

BLOCKCHAIN

transforming the energy exchange

The decentralization of power production, the emergence of microgrids, and the advent of the “prosumer” has created a need for distributed, complex, and traceable energy transactions. Advocates of blockchain say it can help energy players rise to the challenge; making transactions transparent and unalterable, resolving trust and integrity issues, and decreasing the management costs for “certificates of origin”. Longer term, blockchain can allow peer-to-peer energy trading to optimize the dispatch of load, generation, and storage. Can blockchain deliver its promise and make the electricity market more efficient and what components of the status quo will it disrupt? What are the benefits of a peer-to-peer marketplace, and how can it be enabled by blockchain? This panel will explore how Blockchain can enable the “internet of electricity,” the benefits it can provide in grid management, and what challenges lie ahead to implement peer-to-peer transactions.

Michael Casey (Moderator)

Senior Advisor, Digital Currency Initiative - MIT Media Lab

Michael Casey is a researcher and lecturer at MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative and MIT’s Sloan School of Management. A former Wall Street Journal columnist, Casey is Chairman of CoinDesk’s Advisory Board and the author of five books, including The Truth Machine: The Blockchain and the Future of Everything.

William Bubenicek

CEO - ConnectM Technology Solutions

William Bubenicek has 15 years’ experience as an international
entrepreneur/operator, conducting business in 40+ countries. Bill is CEO of ConnectM Technology Solutions, director at Ecovent Systems, and non-executive director at Cambridge Clean Energy. Bill holds a BA in Sociology from Albany State University and an MBA from Colorado Technical University.

Lawrence Orsini

Founder - LO3 Energy

Lawrence Orsini is the founder of LO3 Energy, a groundbreaking energy and tech company working on innovative new hardware and software products within the emerging distributed energy and computation industry. His wide range of experience in the energy sector ranges from the development of policy and regulatory frameworks to relationship management on energy solutions with Fortune 100 utility and corporate clients. Prior to LO3 Energy, Lawrence was the Director of New Products for CLEAResult, working as the strategic lead on the development, piloting and deployment of new utility service offerings. This focused on energy efficiency, microgrid, and load management for commercial, industrial and residential market sectors.

Robert Trinnear

Managing Director, East - The Energy Authority

A widely respected expert in risk management and financial derivatives with two decades of industry experience, Robert Trinnear brings invaluable strategic insight to TEA, where he leads trading services across all commodity types for TEA’s clients on the East Coast. Before joining TEA, Mr. Trinnear was previously the managing director of Southern Horizon Consulting, where he specialized in financial and risk management for clients in the technology, energy, and financial industries. Prior to focusing on energy commodities, he served as a senior trader for Tyson Foods Inc. and held a variety of trading and structured finance roles at Mirant Corporation.