Power Systems of the Future
18 March 2015
View Webinar Content
Presentation—Introduction to the webinar and panelists
Presentation—Efrain Villanueva Arcos: Power Systems of the Future
Presentation—Barry MacColl: South African Electricity Supply Industry—Overview and Recent Developments
Presentation—Doug Arent: Power Systems of the Future
Transcript—Webinar audio transcript
The Clean Energy Solutions Center, together with the 21st Century Power Partnership (21CPP), hosted this webinar, which included presentations on power sector transformation pathways in Mexico and South Africa.
The 21CPP recently published a report titled, Power Systems of the Future: A 21st Century Power Partnership Thought Leadership Report. The report (PDF) summarizes key forces driving transformation in the power sector around the world, presents a framework for evaluating decisions regarding the extent and pace of change, and defines pathways for transformation.
The webinar featured a panel of experts who were contributors to the report, including Dr. Doug Arent of the 21CPP, Efraín Villanueva of the Secretaría de Energía de México, and Barry MacColl of Eskom Holdings, South Africa. They provided an overview of the report’s key findings and discussed transformation pathways in Mexico and South Africa. The presentations were followed by an interactive question and answer session with the audience.
Panelists
Efrain Villanueva Arcos
Efrain Villanueva has a degree in sociology from the Political and Social Science program at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He has diplomas in Project Assessment, Public Policy and Constitutional Law. Efrain served as Rector of the University of the State of Quintana Roo and also as Secretary of Education and Secretary of Internal Affairs. He was elected as Legislator in the State Congress of Quintana Roo and appointed by his peers to President of the Mexican Conference of Legislators and State Congress nationwide. Since March 2013, he has served as the General Director of Clean Energies at the Ministry of Energy. He coordinates the Fund for Energy Transition and Sustainable Use of Energy (FOTEASE), and he is a member of the Sustainable Energetic Fund and Pro Secretary of the Advisory Council for Renewable Energies.
Barry MacColl, General Manager – Research, Testing and Development, Eskom Holdings (SOC) Ltd. South Africa
Barry has been working in the power industry in South Africa for over 23 years. He is the National Utility’s head of Research, Testing and Development and leads a team of over 400 people involved in applied research, testing and consulting in a variety of specialist energy technology related disciplines. As a utility owned facility, the focus is on finding practical solutions to the operational and strategic challenges of Eskom, Africa’s largest power utility. Barry manages teams structured around centres of excellence: the renewable technology; energy storage and electric vehicles; energy efficiency and SMART grid COE as well as Fuels and Combustion, Emissions Reduction Technologies, Materials, Air Quality Monitoring and of course, Underground Coal Gasification as examples. Barry fulfils a variety of leadership positions locally and overseas. He is the Chairman of the U.S.-based Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Research Advisory Board. He is the Vice Chairman of the International Energy Agency Clean Coal Centre (IEA CCC). He is a Board member of the South African Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage (SACCCS). Barry is a board member of the International Energy Research Exchange. He is an Exco member of the National Science and Technology Forum. He is on the Large Infrastructure Investment Committee of the DST. He is a member of the National Intellectual Property Advisory Panel. He advises on several university bodies. Barry is an Electronics Engineer who obtained his degree from the University of Natal in South Africa in 1991. He also has an MBA from Rhodes University. Barry is married to Carey and has three children, two of them under two.
Douglas J. Arent, MBA, Ph.D.
Doug Arent is Executive Director of the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). He specializes in strategic planning and financial analysis competencies; clean energy technologies and energy and water issues; and international and governmental policies. In addition to his NREL responsibilities, Arent is Senior Visiting Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Arent was appointed as a Coordinating Lead Author for a chapter of the 5th Assessment Report of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and serves on the National Research Council Committee to Advise the U.S. Global Change Research Program. He is a member of the Policy Subcommittee of the National Petroleum Council Study on Prudent Development of North America Natural Gas and Oil Resources, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Steering Committee on Social Science and the Alternative Energy Future. Arent is a Member of the Keystone Energy Board and serves on the Advisory Council of the Smart Cities Council. Dr. Arent has a Ph.D. from Princeton University, an MBA from Regis University, and a Bachelor of Science from Harvey Mudd College in California.