Jan. 19, 2024 – As the utility industry takes on the challenge of meeting net-zero goals in the next 25 years, a team of Sargent & Lundy decarbonization and clean energy professionals will share their knowledge and expertise with more than 8,000 representatives from across the sector in New Orleans later this month.
The theme of this year’s POWERGEN International exhibition and summit is Destination 2050 and focuses on the transition to cleaner and more sustainable energy sources. Hundreds of technical sessions and workshops are offered during the three-day conference covering technological advancements and industry trends critical for energy stakeholders and decision makers.
Sargent & Lundy’s Danielle Flagg is a POWERGEN committee chairperson and led the development of the conference’s carbon capture and emissions control track. She will moderate two presentations. She and five other Sargent & Lundy employees will be among the presenters and panelists discussing carbon capture and emission controls, decarbonization, nuclear’s evolution, and unlocking hydrogen’s power potential.
Kevin Lauzze will be participating in two presentations. Lauzze will join the chief technology officer of ION Clean Energy to discuss the first-of-a-kind Project Enterprise carbon capture pilot at Calpine’s Los Medanos Energy Center in California. This session will provide insights into initial lessons learned, along with how these takeaways can be carried forward at commercial scale.
In a separate program, Lauzze will discuss decarbonization drivers for power generation in an overview of alternative methods, including renewables, hydrogen, nuclear, and carbon capture. He will also discuss the incentives and regulations for these technologies and key considerations for deploying the projects.
Many governments, utilities, and large-scale power consumers are considering a new generation of advanced nuclear technologies to meet their decarbonization goals. Kevin Huberty will discuss some of the reasons behind nuclear’s resurgence as part of the conference’s program on nuclear’s evolution.
Huberty will provide an overview of small modular reactor basics, including an explanation on use cases and technology differences for light water SMRs, advanced reactors, and microreactors. He will also discuss project timelines, technology suppliers, and integration of SMRs with industrial applications such as hydrogen production.
Julianna Crumlish’s presentation will provide an overview of common regulatory challenges, strategies to overcome them, and lessons learned from recent carbon capture and storage projects. She has provided evaluation and permitting support for several carbon capture projects throughout the Western U.S.
Matthew Heermann will also be discussing carbon capture regulatory issues as part of a panel focused on tackling new regulatory changes at the technology level. He will also deliver a presentation on complying with the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule for the Steam Electric Power Generating Point Source Category (ELG Rule) that aims to strengthen wastewater discharge standards for coal-fired power plants. As a water and wastewater treatment specialist, Heermann will bring his expertise in looking at regulatory changes for water from power generation facilities and how technology may play a role in meeting the new requirements. 
The conference will also hold technical sessions about unlocking hydrogen’s power potential. Marc Prasse will give a presentation on electrolysis technologies for producing clean hydrogen using existing power systems. Prasse will discuss design considerations and provide a case study evaluating electrolysis technology options at two existing power-generating facilities.
Find out more about the conference here.
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