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Electrifying Transportation Half-Day Conference at Great River Energy, 3.5 PHDs
January 5 @ 8:30 am - 12:00 pm CST

Electrifying Transportation – Half-Day Conference, 3.5 PDHs
Join MnSPE and Great River Energy for the return of MnSPE’s IN-PERSON half-day conference!
This event will be offered at the live site only. Every effort will be made to record the program to make it available at a later date in the webinar library.
Date: January 5, 2023
Time: 8:30 am – 12 pm CST
Location: Great River Energy in Maple Grove
Great River Energy will provide coffee and light breakfast items.
Register by January 3. Space is limited. No late registrations or walk-in registrations will be accepted.
Presentations:
Electric Vehicles in Minnesota
Electric Vehicles (EVs) will provide a new opportunity for cleaner and more efficient transportation. Current surveys show that about 30% of people would consider an EV as their next vehicle, and auto manufacturers are bringing new, exciting options to the market at a rapid pace. This presentation dives into the technology behind the shift to electric, the models available in the US, and how people use and charge their EVs. This presentation is sponsored by clean energy advocacy organization Fresh Energy https://fresh-energy.org/.
About the speaker:
Jukka Kukkonen is Chief EV Educator and Strategist for Shift2Electric. An automotive engineer by training and a former Ford area manager, he has worked with the EV market for over 10 years. He also teaches EV Market and Technologies at the University of St Thomas. For more info visit www.Shift2Electric.com
EVs and the Distribution Grid
This will be a discussion on the impact of EVs on the distribution grid, and how Xcel Energy is preparing to handle the growing EV adoption.
Key Takeaways:
- Challenges EV Charging brings to the Distribution Grid
- Utility strategies for mitigating the challenges using technology and process for:
– Residential EV charging
– Fleet EV charging
– Public EV charging
About the Speaker:
Joe LaCasse is the Distribution Power Engineer for Xcel Energy currently responsible for EV Strategy on how to plan, build, monitor, and operate the Distribution grid as transportation electrification evolves. Joe has been with Xcel Energy for almost 20 years, performing such duties as Distribution Engineering, Operations Management, Development Management, Grid Management, and other various Distribution responsibilities. Joe most recently led the implementation of an Advanced Distribution Management System across the Xcel Energy enterprise to position Xcel with the real-time tools necessary to operate the modern grid.
Commercial EVs – Trucking, transportation, utilities
This presentation will cover how the Medium and Heavy-Duty EV market will impact the utility industry and how we can best prepare together for this transition.
About the speaker:
Diego Quevedo is a graduate of Butler University and IUPUI in Indianapolis, Indiana with Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering. He later received a Master of Science in Product Design and Development Management from Northwestern University. His work experience includes 8 years at Cummins working on diesel engine development and 7 years at Daimler Truck in Manufacturing Engineering, Cab Engineering and now the ZEV Infrastructure & Consulting department. Diego has a passion for EVs and renewable energy with no longer owning any ICE vehicle and solar & battery storage at home.
Registration deadline: January 3. No late registrations or walk-ins are accepted. Space is limited.