The future of energy: challenges and opportunities of energy demand management

Cynthia Barnhart

The Rafael del Pino Foundation organised together with the MIT Enterprise Forum of Spain, on 10 October 2013 at 19:00, the Keynote Lecture by Cynthia Barnhart "The Energy Future: Active Demand Response, Challenges and Opportunities".

The conference was followed by a round table discussion with the participation of Professor Barnhart: Diego Díaz, Director of Disruptive Technology Initiatives at Iberdrola; Pedro Linares, Associate Professor, Director of Energy Economic Analysis, Universidad de Comillas; Julio Echenique Carbonell, Director of Consumer Business Development, Ericsson; and Luis Sánchez de Tembleque, Director of Electricity at the CNE. The aim of the round table was to discuss the challenges and opportunities that active energy demand management offers in Europe and, specifically, in Spain.

The energy systems of the future cannot be conceived without the development of solutions for active demand-side management, an issue that presents challenges and opportunities for incumbent companies, technology companies and entrepreneurs alike. The regulator has a key role in mediating and facilitating the development and deployment of these new technologies.

Cynthia Barnhart is Associate Dean of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) School of Engineering, as well as Professor of Systems Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering, Director of Transportation @ MIT and a member of the US National Academy of Engineering. Professor Barnhart's research interests include the development of optimisation methods for large-scale transportation and logistics problem solving. Her research focuses on integrated scheduling, real-time scheduling and re-planning.

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