The Electrical Grid in Flux

What are the operational and economic limitations to installing alternative generation technologies, such as solar, wind, geothermal, and nuclear? What are the political and social constraints? And how do large-scale storage technologies and data centers affect the needs of the electric grid?

Energy engineer Dave Walter will explore the past and present of integrating renewable energy into our electricity delivery system. He’ll look at the difference between traditional forms of generation, like coal and natural gas, and alternative sources through the “levelized cost of electricity,” that is, the average total cost of building and operating an energy system over its lifetime, divided by the total energy output produced during that period. And beyond technical considerations, Walter will examine how public policy at the state and federal level is challenging and abetting the installation of alternative energy sources.

About the Speaker
David Walter is currently the director of marine operations at the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment. Prior to this role, he worked at the Department of Energy as the sector lead for renewables at the Loan Programs Office and a technology manager for grid integration research in the Solar Energy Technologies Office. David earned a BS in Ocean Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and is a licensed professional engineer (PE) and project management professional (PMP).