What are the leading causes of failures in Energy Storage systems? And with the regulatory environment for energy storage systems evolving so rapidly, are there any recommendations for the industry’s regulatory bodies?

These were among the issues discussed in this Tamarindo webinar – staged in partnership with Firetrace – which focussed on the ‘Impact of Regulatory Changes on ESS Projects’.

Moderated by Ben Cook, Tamarindo insight director and editor of Energy Storage Report, this video offers valuable insights for all stakeholders looking to assess how risk and regulatory changes are impacting their energy storage portfolios.

Speakers:
Brian Cashion, Director of Engineering, Firetrace International
Jackie Huynh, Electrical Engineer, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Drew Lebowitz, Principal and MD, PowerSwitch
Daniel Sherlock-Burke, Head of Asset Performance, Gore Street Capital
Lakshmi Srinivasan, Pr. Team Lead, Energy Storage and Distributed Generation, EPRI

Want to learn How to Reduce Battery Storage Fire Risk? Click here to read Firetrace’s report about battery energy storage fire risk.

If you want to stay up to date with Firetrace’s trends and news on protecting your facilities and enclosures from a devastating fire, read the latest blogs here.

Biographies:

Ben Cook, Insight Director, Tamarindo

Ben Cook is the Insight Director at Tamarindo. Tamarindo deliver insights, connections and communications for the global energy transition. He heads up Tamarindo’s Energy Storage Report. An experienced editor and journalist, he has worked as a writer and contributor for national newspapers, including The Guardian and The Times. He also spent six years as the Madrid-based editor of a legal magazine and website, and previously worked as chief editor for a Paris-based legal and financial ratings agency. He has also previously worked as chief editor for a Milan-headquartered legal publisher.

Brian Cashion, Director of Engineering, Firetrace International

Brian Cashion is the Director of Engineering at Firetrace International, overseeing all aspects of engineering and product design. He has been in the fire suppression industry for over 18 years supporting aerospace and defense fire suppression applications for the first 12 years then shifted focus to commercial fire suppression including clean energy applications such as wind, solar, and BESS. He has a BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Purdue University.

Jackie Huynh, Electrical Engineer, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Jackie Huynh is an Electrical Engineer within the Battery Materials and Systems group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where he is dedicated to advancing the energy storage systems (ESS) industry with a focus on education, safety, and reliability. He brings over a decade of experience in renewable energy, having played a vital role in deploying over a billion dollars worth of gigawatts of renewable energy assets and over 1 GWh of ESS on the grid. Jackie has held several prominent positions, including Product Manager at TAE Technologies, Senior Energy Storage Manager at AES Clean Energy, Senior Technical & Commercial Support Manager at Powin, Senior Solution Development Engineer at Go Electric (a Saft Company), and Microgrid Solution Architect at Schneider Electric. His career spans the entire value chain of renewable energy, contributing to the decarbonization of electric grids. Jackie holds a Master’s degree in Engineering Management and a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from Purdue University.

Drew Lebowitz, Principal and MD, PowerSwitch

Drew Lebowitz, P.E. is Principal and Managing Director of PowerSwitch, a consulting firm offering advisory services in energy storage. He is an expert in the design, finance, construction, and operation of utility-scale battery energy systems (BESS). Prior to joining PowerSwitch, he worked as Team Lead at DNV, a leading renewable advisory firm based in Norway. Drew has advised on over 3 GW of energy storage projects including some of the largest battery plants in the world. He holds a B.S. from Cornell University and a Professional Engineering License in the State of Oregon. He is the author of The BESS Book: a Cell to Grid Guide to Utility-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems.

Daniel Sherlock-Burke, Head of Asset Performance, Gore Street Capital

Daniel is Head of Asset Performance at Gore Street Capital, responsible for technical management and specification of the fleet. Daniel’s team onboards new projects and ensures their successful performance. He has broad experience spanning multiple battery chemistries and projects, including technical and commercial management for one of the first to deliver frequency response in the UK, the first battery dispatched on the Balancing Mechanism and Gore Street’s fleet since 2021. Daniel leverages broad experience to support due diligence processes, specifications of new projects and continuous improvement of the fleet. He is well known in the industry for his leadership on battery safety, including roles as chair for the Energy Storage Health & Safety Governance Group (associated with DESNZ) and ESN’s Safety, Sustainability and Supply Chain working group.

Lakshmi Srinivasan, Pr. Team Lead, Energy Storage and Distributed Generation, EPRI

Lakshmi Srinivasan is a Principal Team Lead within the Energy Storage program at EPRI. She leads the battery safety research program developing new learnings and guidance for the industry. Lakshmi also does research in emerging storage and controls technologies, evaluating the performance and viability of new products. She aims to incorporate social equity and environmental justice into EPRI’s storage research. She serves on technical panels for standards making bodies, such IEEE and CSA.
Prior to EPRI, Lakshmi spent ten years commercializing various storage technologies, including Compressed-Air Energy Storage, Lithium-ion batteries and flow batteries. Lakshmi earned a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Dartmouth College and a M.Sc in Energy Science and Technology from ETH Zurich.