Disruption of Power Sector:

Digitalization, Decarbonization and Decentralization

There are fundamental changes underway in the energy and power sector that will affect how we develop, design and build infrastructure. Increasingly, energy consumers want to control their own destiny and have a role in production – becoming prosumers – across residential, commercial and industrial markets. The power system of today was designed with centralized generation facilities pushing power out in one direction to consumers – we are asking that system to perform in ways it was not designed to do. How do we evolve our approach to building and operating energy and infrastructure to meet these macro-level changes?

About the Speaker:

Nicole Geneau

Strategy and Market Development Director

Nicole Geneau is the Strategy and Market Development Director for Mortenson’s Integrated Energy Solutions business. Nicole focuses on actualizing electrification trends across the company’s vertical, commercial and energy, and infrastructure operating groups. This includes incorporating electrified transportation systems, microgrids, distributed energy resources and utility grid modernization.  Nicole is applying her experience working with local agencies and governments in renewable energy and commercial transactions to develop projects that incorporate private-public collaboration. For example, municipalities and transit authorities interested in electrifying their bus fleets have significant infrastructure and utility considerations that Mortenson is in a position to advise on and plan through execution.   

Nicole brings extensive industry experience as a leader in energy development. Prior to Mortenson, Nicole was a Development Director for NextEra Energy Resources where she was a key member of the team that delivered $2.5 billion of capital investment in renewable energy generation facilities in Canada. She was responsible for market entry strategy, development, landowner contracts, PPA negotiations, community and stakeholder engagement, government relations, siting and permitting, construction, operation and financing. Prior to NextEra, Nicole managed a portfolio of investments in energy technologies working extensively with utilities and research institutions to foster innovation in the sector.

Nicole is a Sloan Fellow in Leadership & Innovation from MIT, a Fellow in Economics of Energy from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (University of Reading, UK) and has a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University in Canada. A new Minnesotan, Nicole grew up on the East Coast of Canada, was in Toronto for most of the last 20 years and is an avid hockey fan (Go Habs!).