EAC Spotlight #2: Energy Storage Subcommittee Leadership

This summer, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the new and returning members of the Electricity Advisory Committee (EAC), which advises DOE on electricity resilience, reliability, security, interdependency, and policy issues. Lola Infante and Clay Koplin began serving as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Energy Storage Subcommittee at the August 2020 meeting of the EAC.

In a new series of posts, we hear from the members of the EAC to learn more about their backgrounds, their predictions for the future of the electric grid, and their advice for young professionals in the energy space. This week we are highlighting chair and vice-chair of the energy storage subcommittee.

Lola Infante, Electric Power Research Institute

Q: Why did you join the EAC?

I feel honored to be part of the committee and help DOE and our country face the electric industry’s challenges - from providing clean and reliable electricity to all customers, to cybersecurity, to ensuring our nation remains a leader in innovative R&D and solutions.

Q: What have you worked on during your time in the EAC?

As the Vice chair, and now Chair of the Energy Storage Subcommittee, I focus on energy storage issues. I have been involved in all the efforts the Subcommittee has had  in the last two years. I also worked with the rest of the EAC leadership  to revitalize the EAC, engage its members, and improve the EAC’s communication and approach to be more responsive to DOE needs.

Q: Tell us about your professional journey.

Although I started my career in the corporate world in marketing and corporate finance, my energy career started at the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), where I spent 13 years working on market and policy developments in clean and alternative energy resources as well as other critical fuels for power generation. Among other things, I launched and managed EEI’s energy storage practice and led many initiatives on renewables and distributed energy resources. Now at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) since July 2020, I focus on stakeholder engagement for strategic areas such as EPRI’s Low Carbon Resource Initiative, a vital project that will help bring hydrogen, ammonia, biofuels, and other energy carriers to market so our nation can achieve its long-term clean energy and national security objectives.

Q: What new developments excite you about the future of energy?

The speed of innovation has always been exhilarating, and only matched by the speed of social and political advancements. Seeing the industry rise to the occasion and quickly meet those political and social goals has always been, and will continue to be fascinating. Going forward, I am most excited to see how the electric power sector “blends in” with other economic sectors, how the lines between energy, transportation, telecom, and water efforts will increasingly blur.

Q: The EAC is an important part of DOE's outreach. What benefits do you see from DOE's efforts to work with outside groups?

I see two main benefits to DOE to engaging with outside groups. First, listening and learning about the energy industry and other economic sectors’ needs and challenges, and how best to help them. The second benefit is the opportunity to improve DOE’s communications and outreach to make sure its work is known by those who will benefit from it.

Q: The grid has evolved significantly in the past century. What do you expect from the Grid of 2100?

By 2100, I hope that the grid continues to be seen as the greatest invention of all time and continues to seamlessly power our lives. Whatever the “grid” looks like, I expect the electricity that will power my children and grandchildren’s lives will be so reliable that they won’t ever give it a second thought, so clean that they will feel good about using it, and so affordable that they will be able to take it for granted.

Clay Koplin, Cordova Electric Cooperative

Q: What made you want to become an EAC member? 

I joined the EAC to share the perspective of the small utilities and microgrids who have boots on the ground, and to learn more about the national grid. It is an opportunity to grow my network to include an amazing group of individuals, both on the committee and within the DOE at large and in the Office of Electricity. I was particularly interested in both subcommittees – Energy Storage and Smart Grid – as my company, Cordova Electric Cooperative, is involved with DOE projects for both. I am also proud of the accomplishments of small, remote, microgrid systems in Alaska and the Alaskans who develop them and keep them working. I am honored to represent my state and the work we do in Alaska.

Q: What is the biggest challenge facing the electric grid today?

The biggest challenge to the national grid is the complex and slow-moving regulatory and business environment in the wake of fast-evolving technology advancements and disruptions.

Q: Tell us about your professional journey that led you to the EAC.

I have been very fortunate to live and work in the Alaskan ecosystem. Before college, I worked on a farm and started a small fishing lure manufacturing business. Then I worked as a cannery machinist while attending university to get my electrical engineering degree. There I developed practical, technical, and academic skills.

My career to date has been roughly split in thirds. For seven years I was an electrical distribution engineer at Kodiak Electric with design and modelling responsibilities that included meter base inspections, large military underground housing complex utility design, system load flow, and short circuit analysis studies in-house. I also earned my professional engineering license.

Then for nine years I was the engineering and operations manager at Cordova Electric Cooperative, where I continued to perform all of the engineering functions at the much smaller utility, while also participating in the greenfield development of a hydroelectric plant, and the brownfield re-development of another hydro project. I also supervised the construction and operation of a distribution  system and converted the remaining 25% overhead lines to a 100% underground and submarine cable system.

I participated in many industry forums about hydropower and electrical generation, transmission, and distribution organizations, and was the co-chair of the statewide manager’s association and then the statewide operations manager organization chair. I served Alaska governors Palin and Parnell on the Marine Transportation Advisory Board for seven years and had a three-year term on Cordova City Council and as vice mayor.

Finally, for the last 13 years I’ve been CEO of Cordova Electric Cooperative. For the first few years I managed the very complex reconstruction of a hydroelectric plant after a natural disaster; threading a path to success through FEMA and FERC regulations in a complex construction environment on tribal lands. I am in my second term as mayor of my community and served two terms on the Northwest Public Power Association. This path has developed my tradesman, technical, operational, executive managerial, and policy and governance skills while developing my  passion for forming solutions through the strategic interplay between these disciplines.

Q: The grid has evolved significantly in the past century. What do you expect from the Grid of 2100?

I expect that there will be a grid, but it will look more fractal – analogous to the national highway system. There will be dusty country lanes (rural or remote systems), intrastate highways (localized grids or authorities) and interstate highways (large grids). Electricity will flow between them seamlessly.  There will be modal connections with air and water transportation including energy conversions to/from gas, heat, kinetic and other forms of energy.  The lines between the transportation of goods, energy, and data will blur significantly as portability and overlap between the sectors evolves. New clean and sustainable technologies will evolve.

Q: How do you relax outside of work? Do you have any favorite hobbies or talents you’d like to share? 

When I do relax, it is a mix of cooking, gardening, hunting, and fishing with interplay between them. I like to write, but do so little these days, and play my fully restored 1946 Martin Committee jazz trumpet on occasion, although I am at a grade school level. I am involved in local and state politics, but hope to throttle this down somewhat to pursue work and home passions.

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Learn more about EAC activities and meetings

Watch this space for more profiles of the members of the Electricity Advisory Committee