On April 17 and 18 the Chile-California Council gathered for its annual event and Board Meeting at the California Chamber of Commerce. The opening session on Wednesday focused on Clean Energy and Opportunities, Challenges, Policies and Programs for a Sustainable Grid and Electrification Transport.
In opening remarks to the nearly 100 attendees, CalChamber Vice President of International Affairs Susanne T. Stirling reminded listeners that just 10 years have passed since the inception of the Chile-California Plan.
Chile President Michelle Bachelet visited California, including an address at the CalChamber. Shortly thereafter, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the CalChamber, the Los Angeles Area Chamber and the American Chamber of Commerce in Chile during a California trade mission to Chile.
Speaking next were Chile-California Council Chair Tu Jarvis, a professor in agricultural and resource economics at the University of California, Davis, and Carol Z. Perez, U.S. ambassador to Chile.
Ambassador Perez discussed the energy pillars of trade and investment together with joint research and innovation which are so important as Chile develops its 2050 National Energy Policy. To this end, she has created a Council for Science and Innovation for U.S. and Chilean collaboration.
Morning Sessions
The day-long conference started with an introduction to California energy policy by Ken Alex, senior policy advisor to California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. and director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.
Alex outlined the seven-prong approach to California reducing energy use by 40% from the 1990 levels by the year 2030.
The first panel discussion about utility scale shortage was moderated by Juan Pablo Carvallo, senior scientific engineering associate in the electrical markets and policy group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Panelists included Ken Zagzebski, president of AES US; John Zahurancik, chief operating officer for Fluence; Juan Pedro Alonso, innovation manager for ENEL; and Tom Georgis, senior vice president of development for SolarReserve.
The second panel examined distributed energy resources and was moderated by Cristián Sjogren, cofounder of Solarwatt. Panelists were Cecilia Aguillon, president of Aguillon Enterprises LLC; Vic Shao, founder and chairman of Engie Storage; Lillian Mirviss, project manager for OhmConnect; and Alex Portilla, principal product manager, Distributed Energy Resources Management System, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E).
Consul General
Luncheon attendees enjoyed welcome remarks from the Consul General of Chile in San Francisco, Enrique Barriga.
He gave an overview of the Chilean trade and investment relationship, together with a description of the long history between Chile and California, dating back to the 1700s.
Afternoon Panels
Immediately following lunch, the electrification of transportation, particularly self-driven cars, was the subject for speaker Dan Sperling, Blue Planet professor of civil and environmental engineering and environmental science and policy, founding director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University California, Davis, and a member of the California Air Resources Board.
The panel on electromobility, industry and regulatory innovation was moderated by Juan Spiniak, vice president of product at Ample. Panelists included Patrick Duan, vice president, BYD Motors Inc.; Carla Peterman, commissioner with the California Public Utilities Commission; and Alberto Escobar, head of mobility and public policy of the Automobile Club of Chile.
A discussion on the energy system, market and regulatory framework evolution in California was moderated by Rafael Friedmann, clean energy research and policy consultant. The panelists included Lucas Davis, professor, Institute of Energy, Haas Business School, UC Berkeley; Andrew McAllister, commissioner of the California Energy Commission; and Mary McDonald, director of government affairs for the California Independent System Operator (ISO).
The final panel of the day on the Chile market and its regulation was moderated by Bernardo Busel, professor of electricity law and regulation at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez Law School; and included panelists Marcelo Tokman, CEO, Chilean National Oil Company and former minister of energy of Chile; Ernesto Huber, operations manager, National Electric Coordinator.
The closing session was a reception at the Leland Stanford Mansion.
For links to slide presentations from the panelists, see the April 19 CalChamber Top Story.
Chile-California Council
The Chile-California Council is a binational nonprofit organization established in 2011. Its 35 members from the public and private sectors support bilateral cooperation to promote scientific research, entrepreneurship, social innovation and public leadership.
See www.calchamber.com/Chile and the Chile-California Council website, https://chile-california.org/.
The CalChamber has been a member of the council since its inception.
