HOMER’s HIMC2017 Highlights: Presentations, Panels, Training, and Tours

September 22, 2017By Osie Adelfang

On Monday, September 18, HIMC2017 kicked off in Denver with a welcome from HOMER Energy CEO Dr. Peter Lillienthal.
Karl Rabago's keynote discussed microgrids' role in the global energy future.
Alaska has been building and using microgrids for decades, offering useful lessons to other parts of the world. Before the panelists shared their insights, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski introduced the topic via video link.
Omar Saadeh provided a utility perspective on distributed energy in the future grid.
The Island Microgrid session provided insight for off-grid microgrid applications. Despite stating that HIMC was his first conference, Herbert Wade (right) wow-ed the audience with stories and data about Pacific Island Microgrids.
At the end of Day 1, attendees had an opportunity to network with and learn from other industry leaders.
Relaxing after a busy day, HOMER and Cummins staffers enjoyed the post-sessions reception.
Crowd-favorite microgrid finance panel featured lively discussion of funding issues from the perspective of government, investors, and developers.
Kathy Zoi, who previously served in both the Clinton and Obama energy departments, introduced Odyssey, a new platform for bringing together financiers, developers, and other key stakeholders.
Day 3 of the conference included beginner and advanced all-day HOMER training tracks.
Day 4 was a "bonus day" offering renewable energy tours in the Denver area, including a 3-hour visit at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
The tour group of about 25 conference attendees split up to tour the NREL campus, which features state-of-the-art solar and net-zero buildings.
Inside the gorgeous sustainable buildings, a relic of times past: One of the first microgrids, built piece by piece by hand.
Before going their own ways, tour attendees (here at the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado's facility), had a final chance to network.

We’re just catching up from HOMER Energy‘s HOMER International Microgrid Conference (HIMC2017), which took place this week near our home base, in Denver, Colorado. Approximately 200 attendees participated in presentations about new technologies and industry developments, panel discussions covering on-grid and off-grid topics and including case studies from the Pacific Islands, Haiti, Alaska, and other locations around the world. We’re planning a series of upcoming blog posts here at Microgrid News & Insight, covering more in-depth the knowledge shared at the conference. In the meantime, here’s a brief overview of the conference in pictures. If you were with us in Denver, we’d love to see your pictures as well and hear about which parts of the conference impacted you most. Feel free to comment below!

The Island Microgrid session provided insight for off-grid microgrid applications. Despite stating that HIMC was his first conference, Herbert Wade (right) wow-ed the audience with stories and data about Pacific Island Microgrids.