Overview

The Renewable & Emerging Energy Technologies Interest Group (previously Energy & Integration Strategy) helps utilities shape the next generation of electricity supply by bringing together renewables, energy storage, hybrid energy systems, and emerging technologies to support strategic generation planning, technology adoption, and operational excellence.

Whether expanding renewable resources, modernizing existing generation fleets, or evaluating emerging technologies, the program aims to provide the strategic and technical insights needed to support long-term generation investment decisions.

Focus areas

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    Emerging Generation Technologies
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    Hybrid Energy Systems and Energy Storage
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    Resource Planning and Integration Strategy
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    Generation Innovation and Technology Adoption
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    Renewable Generation Operations and Performance
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This group is for

Managers and directors of resource planning, generation planning, and renewable energy, energy resource planners and analysts, and specialist positions on battery energy storage, renewable operations, emerging technologies, and grid innovation.
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Technical Advisor Support
Thomas Dempsey
Thomas Dempsey
Energy & Integration Strategy

Thomas C. Dempsey, BSME, PE, MPS, is a mechanical engineer with 33 years of experience in the electric utility industry, specializing in thermodynamics and power plant design. He spent 26 years with Washington Water Power, now Avista, in power plant management, engineering, operations and maintenance, and integrated resource planning. After retiring from Avista in 2022, he worked with a biochar startup pursuing carbon solutions. Thomas holds a Master of Professional Studies in Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems and teaches Renewable Energy and Grid Integration as an adjunct professor at Gonzaga University.

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Top Resources
RESEARCH REPORT
Assessment of Technological Advancements in Flow Batteries and Competing Long Duration Storage Solutions
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This report includes a detailed assessment of flow batteries as long duration storage devices. Long duration is considered greater than eight hours and up to 100 hours of discharge time. It also covers a less detailed assessment of other storage options including advanced lead acid batteries, sodium metal hybrids, zinc hybrid cathode technology, and sodium-sulphur technology.
RESEARCH REPORT
Carbon-Free Fuels for the Future, 2030-2035
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This project provides a technology assessment of future low-carbon fuel options. It also explains any major plant modifications that would be required to burn these fuels in existing plants or those that would be built in the next 10 years. Consideration is given to the economics of transporting either the fuel to the generator or the feedstock to the manufacturing facility.
RESEARCH REPORT
Emerging Energy Technologies to Support a Low-Carbon Grid: Technical and Market Assessment
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This study summarizes the market landscape and state of technology for wind, nuclear, carbon capture and storage, carbon capture and utilization, fuel cells, low-carbon fuels, ocean technologies, and edge-of-grid renewables. Drawing on extensive literature reviews, it evaluates technology readiness, capital and O&M costs, environmental attributes, benefits and challenges, market drivers and barriers, and provides a qualitative risk assessment.
CASE STUDY WEBINAR
Learnings from a Decade of Carbon Capture and Storage at SaskPower
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In this webinar, SaskPower shares lessons from 10 years of operating the Boundary Dam Unit 3 carbon capture facility—the world’s first commercial-scale carbon capture and storage project at a coal plant. The session covers key operational challenges, integration insights, and performance improvements after capturing more than 7 million tonnes of CO₂.
CASE STUDY WEBINAR
Navigating Uncertainty: Best Practices in Scenario Planning for Integrated System Planning
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Salt River Project (SRP) shares its pioneering approach to integrated system planning, drawing on lessons from developing its first public-facing plan in 2023. The webinar highlights SRP’s shift from traditional integrated resource planning to a more holistic, cross-departmental framework to address uncertainty. It explores collaborative scenario development, analytical modeling, and strategies to balance affordability, reliability, and sustainability.