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Keynotes & Plenaries

Keynote

Monday, July 15th
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Room: Ballroom 1

Richard T. Laudenat

Richard T. Laudenat
ASME President

Title: ASME’s Role in Power and Nuclear … a Vision for the Future

Richard T. Laudenat, P.E., became the 138th president of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for the 2019-2020 term in June of 2019. Mr. Laudenat has been an active member in ASME since 1991.

Laudenat, an ASME Fellow, has spent his career in the field of energy generation. In August 2015, he retired from GDF Suez (now ENGIE), a leading global energy operator, where he served as plant manager responsible for the operation of 30 electric generators at 10 plants throughout Connecticut. He was also responsible for strategic planning for generation assets; worked to develop plans and cost estimates for combustion turbine plant expansions; and was the project manager for the Waterbury Generation project, a 100 megawatt Simple Cycle Power Plant in Waterbury, Conn.

Prior to his work at GDF Suez, Laudenat held the position of director, Business, at Bartlett Group Holdings, Inc., responsible for developing new business opportunities within the commercial nuclear power sector. He also served as project manager at E.S. Boulos Co., one of the oldest, largest, and most experienced electrical and telecommunications contractors in the northeastern United States; and he worked for Northeast Utilities, a public utilities holding company, where he led business development for nuclear power service and cogeneration plant development.

Among his leadership positions at ASME, Laudenat served as a member of the Board of Governors; vice chair of the Sector Management Committee; senior vice president, Knowledge and Communities; and chair of the Council on Engineering Finance Committee. He also held several leadership roles in ASME’s energy initiatives, including vice president, Energy Conversion; chair of the Nuclear Engineering Division; and served on the ASME Nuclear Engineering Executive Committee; ASME’s Nuclear Heat Exchanger Committee; and the Electric Utilities Committee of the ASME Gas Turbine Division. In 2010, he was named a recipient of the ASME Dedicated Service Award.

Laudenat received both his master’s degree in mechanical engineering and his MBA in management from the Hartford Graduate Center.

Environmental Issues on Power Industry

Tuesday, July 16th
8:30AM – 9:30AM
Room: Ballroom 1

Speakers

Greg Betenson, PacifiCorp
Anthony Hernandez, P.E. Southern California Edison

The ASME Environmental Systems Division will be holding a panel discussion session on environmental issues. The panel will include experts on the various issues surrounding environmental topics in the power industry. This will be an open discussion. Some of the topics include: Status of the Clean Power Plan; Emissions/Waste Reduction in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Units; Water Conservation in Power Plants; Role of ASME Codes & Standards in Environmental Regulations; Environmental Impacts and Mitigation of Renewable Energy Sources; Life Cycle Analysis and Supply Chain Analysis; and, the Role of Research in Environmental Topics Affecting the Power Industry.

ACE Rule Panel

Wednesday, July 17th
8:30AM – 9:30AM
Room: Ballroom 1

Speakers

Anthony Licata, Licata Energy
Abe Kearl, PacifiCorp
Frank Michell, American Electric Power

In August of 2018, EPA proposed their “Affordable Clean Energy” rule (ACE). The intent of this proposed rule would be to require improvements in annual heat rates of coal-fired units to reduce CO2 emissions. In EPA’s proposal they requested comments on many open technical issues on how annual heat rates can be measured and how to implement improvements to unit heat rates. ASME’s Research Committee and ESD prepared responses to many of EPA’s request for information. This presentation will discuss the implications that the ACE rule, along with the ASME comments, the impact on plant operations and ability to comply with the rule.