Powering the Grid: How Are We Going to Electrify America?

August 2022

America’s energy infrastructure fuels our nation. While the electric industry has increased investment to meet customers’ needs, our generation, transmission and distribution systems are still struggling. The problem only worsens as the impacts of climate change continue and our demands on the power grid increase. The passage of new infrastructure investment funding for the energy sector provides an important opportunity to head off the increasingly common headlines of rolling blackouts, lack of electricity and struggling utilities.

Today’s guests are leaders in the green building movement and are committed to helping the AEC industry see not only the critical need but also the historic opportunities ahead in rebuilding our power grid for the future.

Guests

Kevin Hydes, Founder + Chair – Integral Group

Sam Brooks, Founder & CEO, Starfish Electric

Episode Topics

Topic 1: The challenges of powering our grid for the future are enormous. (1:31)

Topic 2: The design-build industry’s role in helping fuel change. (4:08)

Topic 3: The demand to generate change in our grid is enormous. (5:36)

Topic 4: Historically, we’ve mobilized in times of need. We can do that again (6:30)

Topic 5: What will it take to revolutionize our grid? (8:26)

Topic 6: Will it take catastrophic failure, or can we work preventatively? (11:42)

Topic 7: Some states, counties, and cities are already working to rejuvenate our grids. (13:21)

Topic 8: Private sector isn’t waiting for governments to take the lead. (14:26)

Topic 9: Rebuilding our grid is a natural for design-build teams. (16:02)

Topic 10: The financing is in place; we need to deliver power projects differently. (17:52)

Topic 11: Infrastructure investment opens the door to building capacity in many ways (18:58)

Topic 12: Design-build teams can seize this opportunity. (22:26)

 

Download Resources:

Building a 21st Century Energy Grid – Energy Monitor

Building a Better Grid Initiative – U.S. Energy Department

Critical Electric Infrastructure Information – U.S. Energy Department

Funding Opportunities and Requests for Information – U.S. Energy Department

Case Study: Napa Microgrid Performance – Integral

Energy Infrastructure Report Card – ASCE

 

Thanks to Design-Build Deliver’s Partner

U.S. CAD helps forward-thinking AEC firms, many ranking on ENR Top Lists, generate new revenue streams by shifting to Autodesk AEC technology. To learn more, book a free 30-minute consultation at USCAD.com/DBIA.

 

Did you know you can access DBIA conference presentations even after the event? You can watch Kevin and Sam’s full presentation on Powering the Grid by purchasing that session (and many more) through DBIA’s Learning Center.

 

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