2025 Dialog: Sustainable Grid Infrastructure

Twentieth Annual Dialog on Sustainability

Saturday, July 19, 2025

This FREE virtual webinar was hosted on zoom.

View the invitation for the 2025 Dialog here.

A recording of the webinar is available on You Tube: https://youtu.be/VjOBuJ6j6Yc

The Consortium for Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability (CESAS) at Kansas State University and its partners hosted the Twentieth Annual Dialog on Sustainability: Sustainable Grid Infrastructure on Saturday, July 19, 2025, from 9am to 11am.

This dialog focused on maintaining a stable electric grid powered primarily by renewable energy, especially during peak demand periods. Kansas State University professor of Electrical Engineering, Hongyu Wu, spoke on the importance of a net-zero grid. Key discussion points include:

Integrating battery storage to manage peak loads.
Strategically using renewables for battery charging and hydrogen production.
Leveraging battery swapping to optimize charging during periods of high renewable availability.
Using batteries as distributed energy resources to support grid stability.
Addressing increased winter demand from electrified heating systems like heat pumps.
Emphasizing the need for a resilient, flexible grid to ensure reliability year-round.

Speakers and Facilitators

Dorothy Barnett, Climate + Energy Project

Larry Erickson, Professor of Chemical Engineering, KSU

Blase Leven, Director, Center for Hazardous Substance Research, KSU

Zack Pistora, Director, Kansas Chapter of Sierra Club

Donna Schenck-Hamlin, Facilitator - Retired from KSU

Hongyu Wu, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, KSU

Gerry Snyder, Zoom Host and Operator, Retired from KSU

Agenda

9:00 - Introduction - Larry Erickson and Donna Schenck-Hamlin

9:05 - Empowering Rural Resilience: Agricultural Microgrids for a
Net-Zero Grid - Hongyu Wu

9:35 - Sustainable Grid Infrastructure - Dorothy Barnett

9:45 - Sustainable Grid Infrastructure in Kansas - Zack Pistora

9:55 - Questions for Speakers and Dialog on Sustainable Grid
Infrastructure facilitated by Donna Schenck-Hamlin

10:55 - Closing Comments - Blase Leven and Larry Erickson

You can view a PDF version of the agenda here.