Join the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsinfor a deep dive into the evolving energy landscape at our upcoming Upper Midwest Energy Forum, designed to equip business leaders and professionals with the knowledge and strategies to navigate critical challenges in the evolving energy landscape. Attendees will leave with actionable solutions and insights to help guide their business decision making and operations moving forward.
Energy Forum Overview
Who Should Attend?
Business Leaders & C-Suite Executives:Specifically, those in operations, strategy, finance, and sustainability roles, seeking to understand the broader implications of energy trends on their organizations.
Industry Professionals:Directors and managers overseeing building operations, sustainability initiatives, green building projects, the built environment, and energy engineering.
Regional Stakeholders:Individuals living and working in the Upper Midwest (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan) across the energy and utility sectors.
In essence, if you are part of a business or organization(including municipal governments and non-profits) striving to proactively address and mitigate the energy burden of your operations, both now and in the future, this forum is for you.
What Will Be Covered?
Our comprehensive agenda will tackle a wide array of pressing topics, ensuring a holistic understanding of the energy ecosystem.
Key topics to be covered at the Upper Midwest Energy Forum include:
• Energy Independence:A critical discussion on the regional energy independence of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, considering factors like reliance on inputs from other states and countries, and the potential impact of Canadian tariffs.
• Future Energy Technologies:An exciting exploration of emerging energy technologies, including advancements in fusion technology and modernized nuclear fission technology (specifically small, stackable modernized reactors).
• Data Centers & Energy Consumption:A focused look at the surging energy demands of data centers, their impact on the grid, utility tariffs, and the critical question of who bears the cost of this immense energy consumption.
• Cost of Energy & Future-Proofing:Strategies to manage and predict energy costs, and how businesses can prepare for and mitigate the impact of anticipated price increases, especially in energy insecure regions.
• Energy Efficiency & Resilience:Exploring the latest advancements in energy efficiency and building resilience against grid disruptions, natural disasters, and other unforeseen challenges.
• Grid Reliability: Unpacking our grid at a high level, including the policy frameworks that impact businesses' resilience, and how these different policies are interconnected, and what actions business can take.
• Decarbonization & the Built Environment: Discussions on decarbonization pathways for businesses, with a specific focus on innovations within the built environment.
• Innovation & Research:Insights into cutting-edge research and innovation in the energy sector through poster displays highlighting work from universities, including the UW Energy Institute.
Opening Plenary Session: State of Energy in the Upper Midwest
The opening plenary session will provide an overview of the current energy landscape in the Upper Midwest, while unpacking the key changes occurring in the energy sector and the implications for business.
Welcome by Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin Vice President,Montre Moore
Session is being organized by the West North Central Region of U.S. Green Building Council
As the energy transition accelerates, the built environment plays a pivotal role in driving meaningful change. This session will explore how building owners, operators, and occupants can lead the way by prioritizing energy efficiency and carbon reduction strategies in both new construction and existing operations. Attendees will gain insights into how high-performance buildings and third-party verification tools like LEED can help mitigate risk, enhance transparency, and support a more resilient, low-carbon future. Whether you're a small business leader or a sustainability-minded professional, discover how you can be part of this transformation.
Speakers:
Korinne Haeffel, Director - Market Transformation and Development, U.S. Green Building Council
Brent Suski, Director - Market Transformation & Development, U.S. Green Building Council
Session is being organized by CUBs of Minnesota, Wisconsin & Vernon County Energy District
Who Session is for… small business owners, home based businesses, people who work remotely from home, residential utility consumers that want to learn about actions they can take to reduce their energy bills.
This session will highlight utility, regional incentive programs to assist residential utility customers with saving money. It will also showcase innovative technology (i.e. cold climate heat pumps) and other tools that homeowners can use to measure and monitor their energy use.
Session is being organized CUB Wisconsin and Sustainable Business Council
Who Session is for…businesses and organizations that are beginning their energy management and sustainability journey.
This breakout session will unpack programs and tools that are available to help businesses across the Upper Midwest to begin to both measure and then manage their energy.
Session organized by CUB Wisconsin, Great Lakes Fusion Energy Alliance and PowerLines
Who Session is for…businesses and organizations that are heavy energy users and that have sophisticated energy management systems in place.
This breakout will dig into the rapid changes (i.e. increase in Data Centers, technology changes and innovations in nuclear and fusion tech) that are impacting the regional energy system, and the policy ramifications of these changes for business.
Closing Plenary: Unpacking Actions to Help Business Thrive in the Regional Energy Transition
The closing panel will highlight a variety of different types of resources available to businesses operating in the Upper Midwest. Topics to be covered include; how to fund business actions, how to get involved with energy policy, who are the nonpartisan organizations advocating for businesses in the utility sector and what type of rebates, incentives exist for business.
Graduate students from the Wisconsin Energy Institute at the University of Wisconsin Madison will be showcasing their research in an interactive poster session. Energy Forum attendees will be able to mix and mingle with the graduate students and view their posters from 4:30 - 5:30pm on Nov 4th. Sustainable Business Council conference attendees will also be able to interact with the students and visit their posters throughout the Sustainable Business Council conference on Nov 5th.
Graduate Student Poster Presentations
Who Benefits from Renewable Energy Projects? Examining Power Purchase Agreement Revenue Flows in Michigan and Ohio
By: Jacklyn Alsbro, M.P.A. Student - La Follette School of Public Affairs at University of Wisconsin-Madison
Renewable energy projects provide significant local benefits through landowner payments and property taxes, yet Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) revenue, one of the primary revenue streams, consistently exits local and state economies. This revenue stream's economic impact is often opaque due to the complexity and confidentiality of PPAs. This analysis quantifies the flows of solar and wind project PPA revenues in Michigan and Ohio, emphasizing that prioritization of projects with in-state ownership and investment is necessary to maximize the retention of PPA financial flows within the state and may secure local support for renewable energy development.
Biogas Energy in the Marshall Islands
By: Matthew Bialo, M.P.A. Student - La Follette School of Public Affairs at University of Wisconsin-Madison
As part of the Energy Analysis and Policy capstone course, my project team recommended the construction of a biodigester and biogas-capture system to provide a source of renewable energy on the island of Ebeye. Ebeye is the second most populous island in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and its 10,000+ residents rely entirely on diesel fuel to power their grid. Our design could offset the community’s diesel use by up to 10% annually while also clearing out organic material from the island’s landfill.
The Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin in partnership with the Sustainable Business Council, the U.S. Green Building Council, and other regional nonprofit organizations, business leaders have put together a unique opportunity to help equip current students (high school, technical college, undergraduate and graduate) who are striving to work within the energy sector and/or sustainability, built environment space.Click here to view special student programming on Nov 4th & 5th.
Data Center Growth and Wholesale Power Prices
By: Sharan Ganjam Seshachallam, PhD Student - Agricultural and Applied Economics at University of Wisconsin-Madison
Colocated data centers proliferate in several data center 'markets' in the United States. Using a simple statistical model, I measure the correlations between data center capacity and aggregate measures of local wholesale power prices, which are eventually passed on to customers. I find a small but persistent correlation with both the levels and variance of power prices.
Crowdfunding and Citizen Participation In Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Projects
By: Mohammad Eshaghi, M.P.A. Student - La Follette School of Public Affairs at University of Wisconsin-Madison
This poster explores how crowdfunding can serve as a viable financing mechanism for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in developing areas. Using a mixed-methods approach combining survey data from 147 citizens and expert interviews, the study identifies key motivations and barriers to citizen participation. Findings suggest that campaigns appealing to both environmental values and financial returns are most effective, and that regulatory clarity, transparency, and community engagement are essential to success. The insights offer broader lessons for mobilizing local capital in emerging markets toward clean energy goals.
Attend Sustainable Business Council Conference Nov. 5th
