FSEC Advisory Board Meeting
May 10, 2023
9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
In-Person Meeting with Remote Option via GoToMeeting
Agenda
| Time | Description | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 9:30 a.m. | Welcome | Bill Grieco, Chair, FSEC Advisory Board; Chief Innovation Officer Innventure |
| Introductions – Advisory Board Members Roll Call | Sherri Shields, Director, Communications & Marketing, FSEC | |
| 9:40 a.m. | Approval of November 2, 2022 Minutes | Bill Grieco, Chair |
| 9:45 a.m. | Status of FSEC Programs | Jim Fenton, Director, FSEC |
| 10:15 a.m. | Florida Energy Office Report | Brooks Rumenik, Director, Office of Energy, FDACS |
| Florida Legislative Session Report | Louis Rotundo, Principal, Louis Rotundo and Associates | |
| 10:45 a.m. | Universal Orlando Resort Sustainability Initiatives | David Winslow, Anthony Norrow, and Brian Cresse, Universal Orlando Resort |
| 11:15 a.m. | Hydrogen Opportunities in the Southeast | Scott McWhorter, Chair, Southeast Hydrogen Energy Alliance |
| 10:45 a.m. | FSEC Working Groups | Jennifer Szaro, Vice Chair, FSEC Advisory Board; President and CEO, Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP) |
| 11:55 a.m. | Date and Agenda for Next AB Meeting (TBD) | Bill Grieco, Chair |
| 12:00 p.m. | Adjourn for Lunch | Bill Grieco, Chair |
Meeting Minutes
Attendance
Board Members
Brian Donnelly, Publix Super Markets, Inc; Linda Ferrone*, OUC; Bill Grieco, Innventure, LLC; Michael Hess*, City of Orlando; Jeff Juger, Jinko Solar Inc.; Karen Kicinski*, Lifestyle Homes Builders; Bruce Lindsay, Trane Technologies; Ashraf Mahmoud, Saft; Scott McWhorter, Joule Consulting; Roger Messenger*, VB Engineering Group; Tony Norrow, Universal Orlando Resort; Dave Robau*, Gulf Coast Energy Network; Helda Rodriguez, NovaCharge, LLC; Louis Rotundo, Rotundo and Associates; Brooks Rumenik, Florida’s Office of Energy; Susan Schumann, Florida Municipal Power Agency; Jennifer Szaro, AESP; Marlin Vaughn*, The Walt Disney Company; Tamara Waldmann*, Duke Energy Florida; David Winslow, Universal Orlando Resort;
Guests and Speakers
Christopher Adams*, Siemens Energy; Benjamin Cross*, Nusynergy Energy; Paul Brooker, Orlando Utilities Commission; Brian Cresse, Universal Orlando Resort; Anna Eskamani*, FL House of Representatives; Justin Kramer, Orlando Utilities Commission; Nasser Kutkut*, Smart Charging Technologies; Jan Marsh*, Siemens Energy; Tony Morgan, Florida’s Office of Energy;
FSEC and UCF Staff and Faculty
Issa Batarseh, UCF Joint Research Faculty; Hsiang-Sheng Chen, Carlos Colon, Kristopher Davis, UCF Joint Research Faculty; Philip Fairey, Karen Fenaughty, Jim Fenton, Hamed Haggi, Penny Hall*, Safvat Kalaghchy, Eric Martin, Robyn McCarl, Nazim Muradov, Karthick Panchabikesan*, Winston Schofeld, UCF; Susan Schroen*, Sherri Shields, Kelly Stevens*, UCF; Rob Vieira, Yifan Wang, Nick Waters, Charles Withers
*Virtual Attendance
- Bill Grieco called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. He turned the meeting over to Sherri Shields to begin roll call. Board members and guests briefly introduced themselves.
- Bill Grieco presented the meeting minutes from November 4, 2022. Motion to approve was given by David Winslow. Motion was seconded by Bruce Lindsay and Scott McWhorter. Minutes were unanimously approved by voice vote.
- Jim Fenton provided an Update of FSEC Programs. Fenton’s vision for Florida is to spend little to no funds on imported primary fuels and keep the jobs and wealth in Florida. New and current research projects were presented. Record rates of solar expansion are occurring, and our country and Florida needs to make three to four times the amount of mostly solar electricity (utility and rooftop) by 2050 to keep up with projected demand and to meet net-zero emissions.
- Moss & Associate’s recently held a three-week training at the FSEC facility for utility-scale solar apprenticeship training.
- The work that M2X Energy is doing on-site at FSEC is revitalizing the laboratories.
- Eric Martin received the 2023 Research Incentive Award from UCF.
- Philip Fairey, FSEC deputy director, and Pete DeNapoli, Advisory Board member, were inducted into the FlaSEIA Hall of Fame, among other former employees and board members.
- The new Director of the Office of Energy at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Brooks Rumenik, was introduced to the board members. Tony Morgan, Deputy Director at the Office of Energy at FDACS provided an update on their current programs.
- IIJA – Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – Programs and Grants are still in development.
- NEVI – National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program – DOT – The goal of this program is to have an electric charging station (at a minimum of) every 50 miles.
- Grid Resiliency Program – Upgrade the grid – Department of Emergency Management
- IRA – Inflation Reduction Act
- HERA: Appliance Rebate – Will be done at retailers but will require an income verification. A streamlined process of how this will occur is being investigated.
- Homes – Rebates for HVAC, insulation, and other approved home upgrades. Current considerations are the auditing process and contractor training.
- Louis Rotundo was given the floor to provide an update on happenings in Tallahassee, FL.
- Senate Bill 284 – Required to consider lifetime costs of vehicles.
- House Bill 1645 – Gainesville Electrical Utilities is now its own entity and no longer belongs to the City of Gainesville.
- House Bill 1331 – Discusses municipal boundaries as related to utilities.
- Susan Schumann discussed the importance of utility boards to allow for city and outside of city representation.
- David Winslow of Universal Orlando Resort introduced Brian Cresse who reported on NBCU Sustainability Program.
- Comcast/NBC Universal are working to be carbon neutral by
- Current evaluations include heat pumps, chilled water facilities, theme park expansion, kitchens, existing buildings, rides, and attractions.
- Scott McWhorter was introduced by Bill Grieco to discuss Hydrogen Opportunities in the Southeast and the Southeast Hydrogen Energy Alliance (SHEA).
- SHEA’s focus is to create an alliance between companies, universities, and national laboratories interested in working with Hydrogen and to educate businesses on Hydrogen production, consumption, storage, transportation, and safety.
- SHEA’s creation of working groups provided platform strategies for several proposals submitted within the Southeast for DOE H2 Hubs.
- Jen Szaro presented a follow-up discussion on FSEC Working Groups.
- Group leaders have been designated (all FSEC staff) and the program focus of each group has been defined.
- Requesting 100% participation from Advisory Board member organizations. Hopeful to have various participants from organizations, not necessarily just the member.
- The next advisory board meeting will be scheduled for late October or early November.
- Meeting was adjourned by Bill Grieco at 12:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
William Grieco
Chair, FSEC Advisory Board