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Webinar: A Solar PPA Designed for Positive Externalities

July 17, 2019 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm EDT

Free

Drs. Meghan Hoskins and Peter Buckland from Penn State’s Sustainability Institute in collaboration with Elizabeth Johnson, The Nature Conservancy, PA and Emilie Wangerman, Lightsource BP will describe the rationale for and process of including criteria for institutional benefits, community benefits, and ecosystem services in a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a solar power purchase agreement (PPA). They worked on a diverse cross-functional team within Penn State, convened by the Office of Physical Plant (OPP) staff, to draft an RFP the criteria of which included environmental conservation language crafted in partnership with the Pennsylvania office of The Nature Conservancy. Hoskins and Buckland will discuss the evolution of the RFP, the discussion of integrated sustainability considerations, and the collaboration with The Nature Conservancy. Attendees will learn about including, scoring and ranking of nontraditional criteria in a solar PPA, integrating multiple sustainability goals into one project, and the progress of the project to date regarding ecosystem, community, & academic aspects. They will invite attendees to ask questions and to reflect on possibilities at other institutions.

For members: Access webinar recording and presentation materials

Presenters

	Peter Buckland, Academic Programs Manager, Penn State’s Sustainability Institute Dr. Peter Buckland is the Academic Programs Manager at Penn State’s Sustainability Institute and an affiliate faculty in Educational Theory and Policy. Peter works with faculty, departments, colleges, and the office of general education to integrate sustainability across Penn State’s curriculum. He also works on special programs with campus and community partners to advance renewable energy, climate change literacy, and the arts in civic life. Peter has communicated widely on sustainability, environmental issues, education, and music on radio, online, and in popular and peer-reviewed press. He lives in State College, Pennsylvania with his son Sacha.
	Meghan Hoskins, Director of Operations and Partnerships, Penn State’s Sustainability Institute Dr. Meghan Hoskins is the Director of Operations and Partnerships at Penn State’s Sustainability Institute. Meghan works with operations and facilities staff, faculty researchers, and outside partners to integrate sustainability across Penn State’s operations. She also works to develop on-campus living laboratory projects that span operations, education, and research in sustainability-focused topics.
	Emilie Wangerman, Vice President of Business Development, Lightsource BP Emilie brings broad energy industry experience to Lightsource BP. Emilie has over 8 years of experience in power markets and energy policy, on both the buy and sell side of solar, storage, and distributed energy resources (DERs), as well as experience with generation and electric system operations and utility rate design, which is complemented by her background in technology development and process engineering. Prior to Lightsource BP, Emilie worked at Pacific Gas and Electric (“PG&E”), GE Renewable Energy, Corning, and Intel Corporation. Emilie has received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as well as a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University. Emilie currently leads Business Development for the U.S.
	Elizabeth Johnson, Director of Land Management, The Nature Conservancy, PA Liz Johnson is the Director of Land Management for the Nature Conservancy’s Pennsylvania Chapter, where she develops landscape scale conservation initiatives, and oversees the stewardship of its conservation lands and develops habitat management projects in coordination with public and private partners. Liz has a M.S. in Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. in Biology with a concentration in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior from Skidmore College.