September 24 | Hype, Investment, and the Hard Infrastructure of the Energy Transition

Join the Irving Institute at the Yale & Dartmouth Club on September 24.

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Hype, Investment, and the Hard Infrastructure of the Energy Transition

Thursday, September 24
2:30 - 7 pm

Yale & Dartmouth Club, Roof Dining Room and Terrace
50 Vanderbilt Ave, New York, NY

Schedule & Speakers

2:30 pm - 3 pm: Doors open

3 pm - 4:15 pm: Panel One

Bubble or Breakthrough: How Capital Shapes the Energy Transition

Every technology that has reshaped civilization had to tap the capital markets to achieve real scale. Solar, wind, and batteries have successfully passed through cycles of euphoria and despair before becoming cornerstones of modern electrical grids. Today, a new generation of technologies, from enhanced geothermal to fusion, is running that same gauntlet. But do capital allocation patterns today indicate that we are speeding progress towards durable solutions or distorting it? Are the assumptions in the minds of mainstream investors about the future energy system inflating expectations in a way that will leave wreckage behind when the next tide goes out?

This panel brings together investors, frontier energy developers, and scholars at the intersection of capital and clean energy to ask the hard questions: How do you distinguish a bubble from a breakthrough when you're inside the hype? What disciplines keep serious players grounded when markets are not? And what do the technologies that did cross the chasm reveal about how the energy transition actually unfolds—and who wins and loses along the way?

Speakers:

Charlie Donovan, Professor, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth (moderator)
Geoff Parker, Faculty Director of the Irving Institute & Charles E. Hutchinson ‘68A Professor of Engineering Innovation at Dartmouth
Andrew Beebe, Managing Director, Obvious Ventures
Giulia Siccardo, Managing Director and Head of North America at Quinbrook and Distinguished Industry Fellow, Irving Institute

4:15 pm - 4:45 pm: Break

4:45 pm - 6 pm: Panel Two

Beyond the Bottleneck: Financing the Grid America Needs Now

The United States has the technology to dramatically expand grid capacity. It does not yet have the financing structures, regulatory frameworks, or political alignment to do so at the speed and scale the energy transition demands. The result is a bottleneck that costs billions, slows decarbonization, and raises a pointed question: is the energy transition being shaped by the few and ultimately paid for by the many?

This panel brings together regulators, investors, operators, and policy strategists to examine the structural, financial, and political obstacles standing between America and the grid it needs. Why does infrastructure that could be built in months routinely take a decade? When hyperscalers can afford to bypass the grid entirely, what does that mean for everyone who cannot? And when incentives are misaligned and capital is scarce, where does investment actually go—and where should it go?

Speakers:

Abigail Ross Hopper, Distinguished Industry Fellow, Irving Institute (moderator)
Chairman Willie Phillips, Attorney at Holland & Knight and former Chair and Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Caroline Choi, EVP Public Policy & Corporate Affairs, Southern California Edison and Edison International
Chris Murphy, Partner, Greenbelt Capital Partners
Theodore Paradise, Chief Policy & Grid Strategy Officer, CTC Global

6 pm - 7 pm: Reception

About the Speakers

Panel 1 | Bubble or Breakthrough: How Capital Shapes the Energy Transition

Charlie Donovan (moderator) is a Clinical Professor at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business. He previously served as Principal Economist at Impax Asset Management, Founding Executive Director of Imperial College's Centre for Climate Finance and Investment, and Head of Structuring and Valuation for BP's global power business. Co-author of Renewable Energy Finance, he holds a DBA from IE Business School, an MBA from Vanderbilt, and a BA from the University of Washington.

Geoff Parker is the Charles E. Hutchinson '68A Professor of Engineering Innovation and Faculty Director of Dartmouth's Irving Institute for Energy and Society, and a Research Fellow at MIT's Initiative on the Digital Economy. Co-author of Platform Revolution, he co-developed the theories of two-sided network markets and the inverted firm. His scholarship focuses on distributed innovation, energy markets, and information economics.

Andrew Beebe is Managing Director at Obvious Ventures, investing in renewable energy, transportation electrification, and industrial innovation, including Proterra, Lilium, and Zanskar. Previously, he led Distributed Generation at NextEra Energy and served as Chief Commercial Officer at Suntech, growing it into the world's largest solar company. He began his career building Web 1.0 companies. He holds an A.B. from Dartmouth.

Giulia Siccardo is Managing Director and Head of North America at Quinbrook, leading investments in renewable energy infrastructure, and a Distinguished Industry Fellow at Dartmouth's Irving Institute. She previously served as inaugural Director of the DOE's Office of Manufacturing & Energy Supply Chains, was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, and co-founded Frontier. She holds a BA from Dartmouth and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Panel Two | Beyond the Bottleneck: Financing the Grid America Needs Now

Abigail Ross Hopper (moderator) is a Distinguished Industry Fellow at the Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society and an internationally recognized energy policy expert. She previously served as President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, and led the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Maryland Energy Administration.

Willie L. Phillips is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C., office and a member of the Public Policy & Regulation Group. As the former chair and commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Mr. Phillips led the approval of reforms that accelerated the interconnection of energy generation projects to the electric grid, revamping long-term and regional transmission planning, and advancing grid reliability against extreme weather as well as cyber and physical security threats.

Caroline Choi is Executive Vice President of Public Policy and Corporate Affairs at Southern California Edison and Edison International, overseeing communications, philanthropy, and government relations. Choi serves on the boards of Smart Electric Power Alliance, Veloz, the Electric Transportation Community Development Corporation, and the Public Policy Institute of California. She holds a B.A. from Dartmouth.

Chris Murphy is a Partner at Greenbelt Capital Partners, focusing on investment themes, deal origination, and portfolio support. Previously, he was Partner of Business Development at Trilantic North America, an Associate at The Sterling Group, and an Analyst at Jefferies. He holds an M.B.A. from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and a B.A. from Dartmouth

Theodore Paradise is Chief Policy and Grid Strategy Officer at CTC Global. He previously was a partner at the global law firm K&L Gates, where he was ranked in the Legal 500 and advised clients on energy policy and legal issues. He earned his J.D. from Georgetown Law and his B.A. from the University of Idaho.

Dartmouth at Climate Week NYC

The Irving Institute will host events on September 23 & 24. Dartmouth's Climate Collaborative, Sustainability Office, Institute of Arctic Studies, and Dartmouth Climate Alliance will also host events throughout the week.