Content from CampusEnergy2024

CampusEnergy2024 Opening Plenary Panel

CampusEnergy2024 was an amazing conference, breaking our all-time attendance record and sending nearly 1250 attendees home with a wealth of invaluable content, new connections, and a lot to think about.

For those of you couldn't make it, we are pleased to present a free live stream of our Opening Plenary Panel, A Bridge to the Future, featuring an insightful, in-depth conversation with leaders from campuses around the country; each sharing their perspectives on the energy transition and what’s ahead at their institutions.

Stream it Now

Many thanks to our esteemed panelists, including:

  • Gerry Hamilton, Director, Facilities & Energy Management, Stanford University
  • Sally McGarrahan, Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities Services, University of California, Berkeley
  • Tom Nyquist, Director of Facilities Engineering and Campus Energy, Princeton University
  • Mary Quintana, Director, Asset Management & Utilities, Brock University
  • Lindsey Rowell, Chief, Office of Energy, Sustainability & Transportation, Office of the Chancellor, California State University
  • Ron Saporta, Chief Operating Officer, University of Toronto
  • Megan Sterl, Director, Engineering & Utilities, Montana State University
  • Paul Zmick, Director, Engineering & Utilities, University of Virginia

Remembering Patti Wilson

A Personal Note to the IDEA Community on the Passing of Patti Wilson

On behalf of the board of directors, members and colleagues around the globe, I’m deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Patti Wilson of Affiliated Engineers.  After a brave battle with cancer, Patti succumbed on Monday, February 19, peacefully at home with her family.  

Patti was a dear friend to many of us at IDEA, a colleague and a true professional.  She was a fixture at the IDEA Campus Energy Conference for many, many years where her brilliant smile and warm heart welcomed all in her path.  

For Patti, this event was like the swallows returning to Capistrano, where she was “among her tribe”, a second family.  I can’t count how many people Patti and Affiliated hosted dinners for at every Campus Energy Conference – busloads and busloads and busloads.

Patti had a genuine, easy laugh, always looked you in the eye, and made time to listen, in the truest sense.  Patti made it her mission to connect with people, especially those attending IDEA for the first time. 

She was always prepared, paid attention to detail and was simply a step ahead.  I recall a time when IDEA was hosting a large delegation from Japan and Patti arranged for the IDEA delegates to have our business cards two-sided printed in Japanese for proper presentation to our guests.  She even coached us how to present a card two-handed, facing the person with an appropriate depth of bow.

She served with pride on the IDEA Board of Directors and the Executive Committee and as Chair in 2014 – 2015 after receiving the gavel from Joe Brillhart of JCI in June 2014.  Patti wore the white suit before Hillary Clinton and women in Congress made it a fashion statement for leadership.

In a quiet moment, and in your own way, please say a prayer for our friend Patti Wilson, her husband Matt and their children Megan, Jack and Clare. 

My faith tells me that she is now in a better place.

I know that Patti made IDEA a better place for all the years we had together.

Rob Thornton, President & CEO

VIDEO: Remembering Patti Wilson at CampusEnergy2024

IRA Guidance for District Energy



In November 2023, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published draft guidance relating to implementation of investment tax credits (ITCs) established in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).
 
IDEA's Legislative Director, Mark Spurr of FVB Energy, submitted detailed comments on the draft guidance in January 2024, which you can read below. Mark also delivered a brief address at CampusEnergy2024 on the subject, captured on video, that we are pleased to share with our community. 

DOE Loan Programs


At CampusEnergy2024, it was our pleasure to welcome Alanya Schofield from the US Department of Energy Loan Programs Office. The DOE Energy Loan Program Office provides low-cost financing for a lot of large, clean energy and decarbonization projects. 

If you have a project of $100 million or more in the US, this program might be of use to you. Please contact them for details.