This week’s Women in Business Spotlight features Simone Liano, Growth & Innovation Specialist at Edison International. Simone graduated from Wellesley College in 2017, where she studied neuroscience and economics. Simone is extremely passionate about technologies that reduce climate change and enable a more sustainable world. During college, she became an Albright Fellow, where she worked on a project researching climate change solutions and interned at the Cleantech Group, a market research firm that tracks cleantech startups and investment. She began her career at L.E.K Consulting, where she focused on growth strategy across a variety of industries. Given her passion for sustainability, she co-led L.E.K Boston’s Green Committee and organized events related to environmental initiatives in the area. Simone is currently a Senior Specialist at Edison International, a Fortune 500 company that owns Southern California Edison, the second-largest utility in the country, which has aggressive goals to reduce carbon emissions and electrify transportation. There, she researches energy market trends and identifies opportunities for Edison to collaborate with startups or make early-stage investments in innovative technologies.
Read more about our conversation on green energy industry trends, the impact of COVID-19 on clean energy, and Simone’s tips for a more sustainable lifestyle.
Written by Sarah Chu
Green Energy Market Trends
SC: There are various kinds of clean energy: from solar panels to wind farms, renewable energy is a wide and expansive field. What are some technologies/methods that you are currently researching at Edison?
SL: Energy storage is crucial. Renewable energy from solar and wind is intermittent — the sun doesn’t shine every day, and the wind isn’t always blowing! Because of that, mitigating climate change requires adopting technological solutions that store renewable energy to use at those times. Right now it’s important to identify storage solutions that not only work technologically but can also be economical at scale.
SC: I’ve never thought about the added complexity of intermittent energy! To extend this discussion to the entire industry, I’ve noticed that renewable energy seems to have entered a new phase of growth, despite the economic collapse of other industries due to COVID-19. What are some current renewable energy trends to look out for?
SL: “Green hydrogen” has received a lot of new attention recently and could become a game-changer in the green energy space. If renewable energy is used to power electrolysis, the process to create hydrogen, that hydrogen could be stored and used at any time as a clean energy resource. In addition to being used to store electricity for the grid or in electric vehicles, hydrogen is especially appealing for use as a fuel in industrial applications that cannot be easily powered by electricity directly. Hydrogen is currently cost-ineffective, though, so the big challenge is making it more economical moving forward.
SC: That’s interesting — what are some other trends?
SL: Virtual power plants are coming to fruition more and more. Say there is a mismatch between supply and demand on the grid, where at a certain time of day, say in the late afternoon when people are cranking up their AC, more energy is being demanded than what renewable resources on the grid can provide. Normally, what would happen is carbon-intensive “peaker” plants would be turned on to meet the excess demand. With a virtual power plant, though, a combination of distributed resources can be combined to meet that excess demand rather than having to turn on the carbon-intensive resources. These resources could be batteries in various commercial buildings, or even “reduced load” as a resource. For example, households could sign up for a program where they get paid to have their thermostats or pool pumps automatically turned off during times of peak demand to reduce the amount of energy needed.
SC: How exactly do virtual power plants work? Who controls the resources?
SL: It depends - sometimes utility companies control a network of distributed resources directly if their customers have signed up for a “demand response” program through that utility. In other cases, independent companies called “aggregators” acquire customers to participate in virtual power plants and get paid to do so by the grid operator. The technology itself involves a software, communications, and sometimes hardware layer, to communicate signals about when energy is needed to the various devices that are part of the network.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Clean Energy
SC: Seems like aggregators are an intermediary party that communicates with products, like the Internet of things (IoT)! To generalize this discussion, coronavirus has consequently put businesses – and our lives – at an unusual standstill. How has the pandemic affected the industry?
SL: A shift toward green energy was prevalent before the coronavirus pandemic hit. COVID-19 has not eliminated that trend. In general, there is a slight slowdown in developing new green projects because of the pandemic; however, it appears that companies are delaying their transition to more sustainable practices rather than throwing their plans out entirely. In my view, the trajectory toward clean energy is irreversible at this point.
SC: Do you think this upward trend is because clean energy is becoming more cost-effective?
SL: Definitely! Solar energy is becoming much cheaper than other conventional power sources. There is also more pressure from consumers to hold companies and our government accountable for reducing climate change.
Sustainability Tips
SC: Climate change is the defining crisis of our time. The General Assembly President María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés from the United Nations argues that we only have 11 years to prevent irreversible damage from climate change. What tips do you have for adopting more sustainable practices?
SL: Transportation is a huge contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. During the pandemic emissions due to transportation have fallen (hopefully you’re staying safe at home!) but being cognizant of our everyday decisions is important. Take public transportation or consider using an electric or hybrid vehicle if you can. Advocate for clean, eco-friendly policies within your communities.
SC: From a consumer perspective, fast fashion is lethal to our planet! Companies like Zara, H&M, and Forever 21 produce seasonal clothing cheaper than other more expensive and eco-friendly companies like Everlane, but it’s often at the expense of climate change and other environmental impacts. How can we make sustainability more accessible to a larger demographic?
SL:
In order to have a sustainable business model, companies must make changes throughout the entire product lifecycle, from the supply chain to the product’s end of life.
I think to have a more sustainable world we need stronger environmental policies. With the right policies, companies may have tax incentives if they adhere to certain sustainable benchmarks, for example. It’s true that in the fashion industry there are a lot of embedded carbon emissions involved in the creation, transportation, and disposal of all that clothing. To have a sustainable business model, companies must make changes throughout the entire product lifecycle, from the supply chain to the product’s end of life. We also need to make sure that environmental policies are inclusive, and that communities disproportionately impacted by environmental issues are consulted and listened to during decision-making processes.
SC: Consumers also need to adopt a more ‘less is more’ mindset. Cliché, but worth mentioning. Instead of buying new clothes every season, we need to adopt more sustainable practices, like thrift shopping or buying more expensive clothing that will last longer (if you are able!)
SL: I completely agree!
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