Register now for the BRC-Canada Forum, available to community participants only. Join our experts from across the sector for a curated conversation designed to keep you at the forefront of renewable energy developments. The forum is the perfect opportunity to meet with other members of the BRC-Canada community and understand the trends driving our market. 

Where: Le Germain Hotel - 899 Centre St. S, Calgary, AB T2G 1B8 
When: April 20, 2023 – 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. 

Speakers

Joseph Bastien

Associate Director, Inclusive Economy
SHARE – the Shareholder Association for Research and Education

Joseph is Anishinaabe (Ojibway) and a member of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory. He has over 20 years of experience working with Indigenous communities and organizations across Canada and internationally, including the Independent Electricity System Operator, the British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries. 

Julia-Maria Becker

Senior Manager of Sustainable Business and Operations, RBC

Julia-Maria Becker is focused on supporting the implementation of RBC’s Climate Blueprint. Her expertise is in emissions reductions policy, corporate procurement of renewables and stakeholder engagement strategies. She has worked with provincial and national governments, utilities, industry associations and companies from across the energy sector. Julia has also worked for local and international non-profit organizations, for German and Mexican government institutions, and for academia.  

Vittoria Bellissimo

President and CEO, Canadian Renewable Energy Association 

Vittoria Bellissimo leads a member association focused on ensuring that wind energy, solar energy and energy storage play a central role in transforming Canada’s energy mix. Vittoria was previously the executive director of the Industrial Power Consumers Association of Alberta and worked in renewable energy procurement at both the Ontario Ministry of Energy and the Ontario Power Authority (now the IESO). Vittoria serves on the board of Emissions Reduction Alberta and is a founding board member of Women+Power. 

Sara Hastings-Simon

Assistant Professor, University of Calgary

Dr. Sara Hastings-Simon is an assistant professor in the department of Physics and Astronomy, and the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, and is the director of the Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Development (SEDV)​ program. Previously she was the director of clean economy at the Pembina Institute, where she founded the Business Renewables Centre Canada.​ Before that, she was the practice manager for Clean Technologies at McKinsey & Company.

Joan Hutchinson

Managing Director, Offtake Advisory, Marathon Capital 

Joan Hutchinson has over 25 years of experience in North American energy markets and renewable energy project development. Before joining Marathon Capital, Joan was Vice-President of Origination and Business Development at Lincoln Clean Energy, LLC, where she led efforts for wind, solar, and storage projects resulting in over 1,600 megawatts of transactions in three years, including many power purchase agreements with first-time corporate buyers.

Patrick Leonard

Renewable Energy Procurement Manager, Amazon

Patrick Leonard is Amazon’s Renewable Energy Procurement Manager and leads their consumer renewable energy team. He is responsible for building developer relationships and scaling commercial structures to meet Amazon’s net-zero carbon goals, including achieving 100 per cent renewable energy in their operations. Patrick previously managed energy and resource management at Starbucks, leading the renewables strategy for stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Guy Lonechild

CEO, First Nations Power Authority

Guy Lonechild (White Bear First Nation) is President and CEO of First Nations Power Authority, an organization which connects Indigenous and industry leaders in renewable and alternative energy development. He served as Vice-Chief and Chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (1999-2008 and 2009-2011), where he oversaw the 25-year Economic Development Strategy.

Geoff Pegg

Head of Sustainability and Environment, TELUS

Geoff Pegg established TELUS’ long-term climate change and waste diversion goals, targets and action plans, including negotiating four PPAs for renewable energy in Alberta. Geoff also initiated TELUS’ leading practice of linking executive and team member pay to sustainability objectives and created TELUS’ innovative National Sustainability Council. In 2020, Geoff was elected to the Canadian Business for Social Responsibility and Global Compact Network Canada board of directors and was honoured twice as a member of the Clean 50 for leadership in sustainable development and clean capitalism in Canada. 

Mark Porter

Vice President of Programs, Clean Energy Buyers Association 

Mark Porter is the Clean Energy Buyers Association Vice-President of Programs. He supports all CEBA programs that are working to accelerate corporate transactions of renewable energy, for companies’ own load and in supply chains worldwide. In 2007, Mark began working for Ernst & Young’s transaction-focused renewable energy group where supported projects across the technology spectrum in Europe, Canada and North America. He joined Rocky Mountain Institute’s Business Renewables Center program in 2016, working to accelerate offsite non-utility procured renewable energy transactions. Mark has developed a growing number of resources and delivered numerous programs to help buyers and sellers and accelerate the renewables market. 

Benjamin Thibault

Senior Strategy Advisor, Prairie Sky Strategy

Benjamin Thibault is a policy and regulatory expert with over a decade of strategy, advocacy and implementation experience related to climate, electricity and renewable energy policy. As electricity program director with the Pembina Institute, he led a successful multi-stakeholder campaign to phase-out coal while proposing pragmatic policies and programs to promote renewable energy in Alberta. He served as the senior policy advisor on electricity and climate change to the former premier of Alberta and her cabinet, managing the 2016-2019 implementation of the Climate Leadership Plan. He currently acts as a consultant and advisor on a variety of renewable energy and cleantech policy and market intelligence initiatives.

Rob Threlkeld

Director, Global Energy Strategy, General Motors 

Rob Threlkeld leads the company’s energy procurement efforts, including the commitment to meet the electricity needs of its global operations with 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050. He is responsible for leading the team that supports GM energy procurement and regulatory efforts, including negotiating power purchase agreements, natural gas, green tariffs, and engineering onsite renewable solutions for GM facilities across the globe, which includes opportunities associated with battery storage, behind-the-meter applications and EV integration.  

​Moderators

Nagwan Al-Guneid

Director, Business Renewables Centre-Canada 

Nagwan Al-Guneid is a leader in the sustainability sector, working to accelerate large-scale renewable energy use across the country. Before assuming leadership of BRC-Canada, she worked at the Energy Futures Lab and TotalEnergies in Canada, Europe, and the Middle East.

Jeremy Barretto

Partner, Business Law Group, Cassels

Jeremy Barretto offers extensive regulatory, environmental, and Aboriginal law experience in obtaining approvals and negotiating agreements for renewable energy projects. He frequently represents project proponents in hearings before courts and regulators across Canada. Jeremy has presented at national conferences and published articles, including in the Alberta Law Review, Globe and Mail and CBC. He is a founding member of the Business Renewables Centre-Canada’s advisory board. 

Rob Collier

Vice President, Energy Marketplace, LevelTen Energy 

Rob Collier leads LevelTen’s engagement with buyers, advisors and project developers on the LevelTen Energy Marketplace. Prior to joining LevelTen, Rob managed portfolios of pre-construction solar development assets in the New York and the Mid-Atlantic markets. His development experience includes offtake origination, project sales, state and local permitting, interconnection management, land contracting and landowner relationships, and policy advocacy. 

FORUM AGENDA

April 20, 2023

Welcome and Opening Remarks 8:30 - 9:00 a.m.     

Nagwan Al-Guneid, Director, BRC-Canada 
John Van Ham, Senior Director, Industrial Decarbonization, Pembina Institute 
Mark Porter, VP, Programs, Clean Energy Buyers Association  

Sponsor Welcome 9:00 - 9:10 a.m.     

Panel: What do buyers want? 9:10 - 10:00 a.m.   

Why do corporations and public institutions buy wind and solar energy? What are the motivations for buying? Learn how investors and societal expectations have evolved over the years, leading to a boom in renewable corporate purchasing. 

Moderator: 
Nagwan Al-Guneid, BRC-Canada 

Panelists: 
Patrick Leonard, Senior Manager, Amazon
Julia-Maria Becker, Senior Manager, Royal Bank of Canada 
Rob Threlkeld, Director, Global Energy Strategy, General Motors 
Geoff Pegg, Head of Sustainability and Environment, TELUS

NETWORKING BREAK 10:00 - 10:30 a.m. 

Market Table Conversations 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. 

Join a table conversation of your choice and grab this opportunity to discuss the issues driving the renewable energy industry today, including energy storage, investment tax credits, transmission issues, social impact opportunities, and the evolution of corporate strategies. Each table conversation will be facilitated by a BRC-Canada board advisor. 

LUNCH BREAK 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.  

Panel: Lessons learned for Canada 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.    

Looking beyond our borders, our expert panel highlights important questions at the edge of the market, such as how the Inflation Reduction Act and Investment Tax Credits will impact the Canadian market.

Moderator: 
Rob Collier, VP, Energy Marketplace, LevelTen Energy

Panelists: 
Dr. Sara Hastings-Simon, Director, School of Public Policy   
Joan Hutchinson, Managing Director, Marathon Capital 
Rob Threlkeld, Director, Global Energy Strategy, General Motors 
Joseph Bastien, Associate Director, Inclusive Economy at Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE)

NETWORKING BREAK 1:30 - 2:00 p.m.      

Panel: State of the Market – Canada 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.      

The Canadian renewable energy market is constantly changing - join us for an in-depth look at the challenges and opportunities that are fueling the Canadian market.

Moderator:
Jeremy Barretto, Partner, Cassels 

Panelists: 

Vittoria Bellissimo, CEO, Canadian Renewable Energy Association 
Benjamin Thibault, Senior Strategy Advisor, Prairie Sky Strategy
Guy Lonechild, CEO, First Nations Power Authority

Market Table Conversations 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.      

Join us for more table conversations exploring developments in renewables – from Nova Scotia to Ontario and Saskatchewan, and even the U.S. and EU. Each table conversation will be facilitated by a BRC-Canada board advisor.

Finding Solutions to Procurement Barriers 4:00 - 4:20 p.m.      

This is a fire-rapid exercise to identify barriers and crowd-source solutions to renewable energy procurement – all sourced directly from you, the BRC-Canada community!   

Conclusion and wrap-up 4:20 p.m.      

*  *  *  *

Hotel Information 

The bootcamp and forum will be held at the Le Germain Hotel in downtown Calgary. BRC-Canada has secured a group rate for attendees of the event.

Book your hotel today and save!  

If you have any questions about the forum or bootcamp, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the BRC-Canada team or program manager Jorden Dye at jordend@businessrenewables.ca. 

We can't wait to see you in April - make sure you register today!

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Thank you to EDF Renewables, Marathon Capital and Capital Power! Our event programming would not be possible without the support of our sponsors.