Brendan O’Donnell

Brendan O’Donnell

Veragrid Energy

    Brendan has a broad range of experience in the clean energy and transportation space. Most recently at Amazon, he was responsible for leading EV charging of Amazon’s logistics fleet, including partnerships for hardware and software, site electrical design, and utility interconnection. Prior to Amazon, he led the strategy team for Seattle City Light’s electrification and efficiency portfolio, and was a consultant at Rocky Mountain Institute in the electricity practice. He holds an M.S. in Civil Engineering from University of Washington and a B.S. from University of Michigan.

    All Sessions by Brendan O’Donnell

    Day Two August 25, 2021
    1:00 pm - 2:15 pm

    Deriving Value from a Smarter Grid-interactive Building

    The traditional relationship between the energy utility and the building owner/operator is changing. “Smart” technology ranging from more elaborate and capable sensor networks, the analytical tools to do something with these data streams, more robust fault detection systems, all the way to artificial intelligence controls technology open a new era in operational efficiency opportunity. In parallel, two-way dynamic communication capabilities with the serving utility leverage these same set of innovations that benefit a rapidly changing set of conditions for managing a utility system. The utility case for this grid-interactive building condition is increasingly clear. But what is the value proposition for those who own and operate buildings to re-structure their utility relationship? This session will explore the business case for smart grid-interactive buildings from the owner/operator perspective. Expert voices will expand this value discussion far beyond the typical energy cost framework and highlight areas ranging from electric vehicle charging to building resiliency to building use flexibility in a post-pandemic world.