Out in the Field: Lessons from Conferences, Climate Week, and the Webinar Stage
What we heard, what we shared, and why it matters for clean energy right now
Clean energy work doesn’t happen in a vacuum. As consultants, we spend plenty of time at our desks, but we know that many of the best decarbonization ideas come when we step away from our screens, talk with real people, in real rooms, and occasionally putting on a hard hat to get on-site. We bring those conversations and insights back to the agencies and organizations we serve.
Over the past several months, Optony staff attended and participated in events spanning clean transportation, solar asset management, climate policy, and energy engineering. From attending New York Climate Week, speaking on a North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center webinar, sharing important lessons learned in solar asset monitoring on stage at AEE World, and learning the latest in clean transportation at Forth Roadmap in Seattle, these events took us around the country to where the most important conversations were happening.
Here’s what we heard, what we shared we our peers, and why it ultimately matters for clean energy.
Forth Roadmap reminded us the ways clean transportation can work for everyone Role: Attended
Event Focus: Clean Transportation
Advancing clean transportation means that the transition must work for everyone. At the Forth Roadmap Conference in Seattle on September 14–15, we were reminded of an important thing that can be overlooked in clean transportation: accessibility and ADA considerations need to be built into every EV project from day one.
This means considerations in EV charging site design, building for accessible parking spaces, and considering reach ranges and path of travel, among other consideration. Despite policy setbacks and program uncertainty, adoption of clean transportation is continuing and we are reminded that accessibility considerations are crucial for successful growth for everyone.
The Greenlining Institute shared a version of this message in their presentation during the event: building a more inclusive clean energy future means understanding who benefits from EVs — and who might be left out if not intentionally considered during planning.
Optony underlined the importance of protecting solar investments after installation Role: Presented
Event Focus: Energy Engineering, Clean Energy
A solar project doesn’t end when the ribbon is cut.
That’s when the long-term work of proving and maintaining performance begins.
At AEE World in Orlando, Project Manager Amanda Craparotta presented our solar asset recovery work for a California community college district. Her core point was that a solar PV system is a 20+ year asset, and it can't be managed like a project that ends at commissioning. Fixing what's broken today is only half the job. Without ongoing monitoring, the next decade just turns into the next round of repairs.
Amanda asked the crowd of developers, investors, and solar asset owners:
“If you own solar, can you demonstrate today that its producing what you were promised?”
New York Climate Week prompts discussions on microgrids and bipartisan framing
Role: Attended Event focus: Climate, Resilience, Energy
New York Climate Week never fails to provide a timely and important perspective on the current state of climate and energy. This year, Optony staff attended NY Climate Week and came back with thoughts to share on the current state of microgrids and the importance of bipartisan framing.
In a discussion with EnergyNet on decentralized resilience, presenters discussed a conceptual shift toward a network of microgrids interconnected through an open Energy Protocol, similar to how the internet runs. This concept shifts a highly centralized grid toward many small local grids with local generation, storage, and the ability to communicate with each other.
In this framework, resilience takes center stage, reducing consequences of a single failure from extreme weather or physical disruption.
In former Republican Congressman Carlos Curbelo’s presentation on climate solutions and political durability, the central message was that solutions for sustainability have to be sustainable politically. He argued that bipartisan coalitions are the only way to make that happen. Rising power demand could be the common ground for Republican and Democratic support of renewables given that the cheapest power on the market right now is also the cleanest.
Whether through decentralized microgrids or bipartisan coalitions, this year's NY Climate Week made one thing clear: resilience is both a technical goal and a political strategy, and framing clean energy around reliability and affordability is how it endures.
Sustainable Fleet Technology webinar series presents lower cost charging options in clean transportation
Role: Presented Event Focus: Clean Transportation
Charging infrastructure costs can be a barrier to fleet electrification, but faster and more expensive isn’t always better.
Program Manager Rachel Lore ’s presentation for the Lower Cost Charging Options of NC Clean Energy Technology’s Sustainable Fleet Technology webinar series provided practical uses, cost considerations, and decision-making frameworks to help fleets right-size charging investments and stretch limited budgets.
Phillip Kobernick, Associate Director of Energy Programs at WestLight Energy, believes lower-power, smart charging can go a long way. Especially for public agency fleets, sharing charging infrastructure across multiple vehicles can significantly reduce infrastructure costs without compromising operations. But it's important to make sure the system is designed around real datapoints (like vehicle duty cycles, daily energy consumption, electrical capacity, and long-term replacement planning).
Common threads across every event
These events shared common themes that Optony sees in our work every day:
Right-sized, practical solutions over flashy ones. The best solution is the one that fits the actual need and budget.
Thinking in decades, not budget cycles. Long-term stewardship is where value is won or lost. Solar is a long-term asset, fleet charging should be phased as needs grow, and resilience planning anticipates future disruptions.
A transition that works for everyone. Inclusion is a design requirement, not an afterthought. ADA accessibility, looking through an equity lens, and designing microgrids that protect communities during outages are important design elements for today and tomorrow.
Resilience and reliability as core values. These themes ran through many conversations at NY Climate Week, and they connect directly to performance monitoring that catches. problems early.
Communicating clearly and credibly. Curbelo’s reframing around affordability shows how we talk about clean energy shapes whether it moves forward.
Why this matters now
Connecting what we hear in the field to what our clients face in their own projects keeps our work grounded in real challenges. Here's why these takeaways matter right now:
Power demand is rising. Growing electricity demand puts pressure on reliability and affordability, and it's also creating new openings for broad support of clean energy.
The policy landscape keeps shifting. Durable, bipartisan-friendly approaches matter more when incentives and priorities change.
Early solar fleets are maturing. Many systems are now years into operation, so performance verification and warranty enforcement are becoming urgent.
Extreme weather is testing infrastructure. Resilience is now a budget line, not just a talking point.
We take what we learn and we put these lessons into work to better serve our customers and show up for our partners, not just on the sidelines but as active, engaged participants.
Learn more about the results we’ve delivered that were informed by our lessons learned on the road and in the field.
