Decarbonization is both a method of climate change mitigation and the process of significantly reducing or eliminating carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the atmosphere. To put it in plain terms - this will occur when we stop using fossil fuels. It seems easy enough, replace carbon-based energy with renewable and clean energy sources. This is where it gets complex. Even though the rate of global renewable capacity additions increased by almost 50% in 2023, the fastest growth rate in the past two decades, over 60% of our global energy still comes from fossil fuels – primarily oil, gas and coal. How do we ensure a smooth path to decarbonization and a reliable clean energy transition? What will be the base load in future clean energy systems? Will tripling the rate of renewable investments and implementation and doubling the rate of energy efficiency ensure we meet 50% carbon reduction targets by 2030 and net zero by 2050? Working together, we will address the complex route to decarbonization - where policy, funding and implementation come together. Learn how you can participate in this once in a generation opportunity.

The current international situation makes the energy transition process more critical than ever for Europe. A key requirement is to increase the penetration of renewable energy sources, while at the same time making infrastructure more resilient and cost-effective. In this context, Digital Twins (DTs) are a key tool to facilitate all aspects of business and operational coordination between system operators and market parties.TwinEU will leverage a unique set of competences coming from grid and market operators, technology providers and research centres to create a concept of Pan-European digital twin based on the federation of local twins so to enable a reliable, resilient, and safe operation of the infrastructure while facilitating new business models that will accelerate the deployment of renewable energy sources in Europe.

Smart2B is a project funded by the European Commission under Horizon Europe 2020. Smart2B will address the existing barriers of smartness upgrades for existing buildings through the development of new software and hardware solutions to manage and control legacy equipment and smart appliances in an automated manner. The project will develop and demonstrate solutions that, independently of the building type, can provide Internet-of-Things (IoT) capabilities to legacy devices that can then be integrated with existing smart building devices and energy management platforms. The main developments of the projects will be presented, consisting in a whole smart ecosystem, comprising:

• Smart2B devices: Integration of different types of legacy equipment, smart appliances and IoT sensors;

• Smart2B platform: a smart readiness platform for seamless integration of devices & data, equipped with automated data analysis capabilities, including statistical/machine learning, big data analytics, predictive analysis, and AI

• Smart2B services: user-centred services to improve the smartness of existing buildings, including energy efficiency, indoor comfort, Smart Performance Assessment & Advisor and energy flexibility services.

Finally, results from the real-life pilot demonstrators will be shown, showcasing the strengths of the Smart2B innovations and ecosystem.

Would deploying energy storage and/or other innovative technology alter business models and the utility of the future? We are experiencing significant changes in energy supply due to a number of factors, including the increased availability of renewables, demand-side and storage technologies; and new environmental requirements. This lecture provides an overview of US federal regulation of public utilities, including rate revision, challenge process, and the landmark orders that shaped energy industries we have today. In addition, the lecture offers insights of why energy industries moved from traditional cost-based regulation to competitive markets in an open access environment, and how regulators encourage the use of advanced technology in new transmission projects. Advanced transmission technologies increase the capacity, efficiency, or reliability of an existing or new transmission facility while continuing to ensure that consumers have access to sustainable energy at a reasonable cost. 

Power converters will likely come to dominate the grid of the future. The roles and requirements of power converters in power systems will depend on where they operate within the system, and the type of system in which they are operating. On one level this is obvious: residential solar inverters will have different demands than large wind turbine converters. However, the needs of the systems of the future will likely provide widely different opportunities and challenges to future power converters. Converters that connect into the large grids of Europe or North America will have to provide interoperability with conventional mechanical generation with centralized control, but converters deployed to bring renewable power to regions of the work without existing large-scale grids may never need to interact with conventional grids. To fully realize the potential of future smart grids, we need to shift our thinking from designing converters that meet existing local requirements, to the design converters that enable new types of systems.

The IEEE Young Professionals Climate and Sustainability Task Force (CSTF) aims to empower early career professionals at the intersection of climate, sustainability, and technology. It provides tools, resources, and a centralized platform to facilitate active participation in this field. The Task Force serves as a bridge between young professionals, IEEE organizational units, and external entities, including UN processes, energy agencies, and non-profits. Comprising 25 members, it operates under the motto "Young Professionals in Technology to Increase Global Resilience" and supports a constituency of nearly 125,000 young practitioners.

High voltage cable insulation diagnostics play a pivotal role in ensuring the dependable operation and safety of electrical power transmission systems. Utilizing two main diagnostic approaches—one addressing bulk insulating aging and the other targeting defective or localized aging—enhances the thoroughness of assessments. Among these approaches, partial discharge (PD) measurements and dielectric spectroscopy emerge as indispensable tools for evaluating the condition of high voltage cable insulation. Partial discharge measurements play a key role in identifying localized defects and imperfections within the insulation material. These measurements can provide early warning of potential insulation failure. Indeed, by capturing PD activity, utilities can pinpoint specific areas of concern, enabling targeted maintenance and mitigating the risk of unexpected outages. Dielectric spectroscopy, on the other hand, offers a frequency-dependent analysis of the insulation material's dielectric properties. This technique assesses the insulation's response over a broad frequency range, revealing critical information about moisture content, bulk aging, and other degradation mechanisms. By analyzing the dielectric response, it is possible to infer the health and integrity of the insulation, predict its remaining service life, and identify the need for preventive maintenance. The integration of advanced diagnostic methods significantly enhances the capability to conduct comprehensive insulation assessments, thus contributing to the maintenance of operational integrity within power networks through regular diagnostics.

The aim of the presentation is to show the opportunities for a student to join an AEE Student Chapter and work in the Association. Why it is worth joining a professional organisation that offers professional development, training opportunities, social networking and even lifelong friendships and professional contacts. Good practice from around the world will be presented along with briefly reviewing the steps to setting up and running an AEE Student Chapter. 

Although students and young professionals as well as life members are in opposite time periods in relation to their IEEE activities, the experiments have shown that there are a lot of cooperation opportunities for both specific membership groups for the benefit of their membership. They have different levels of experience and skills which might be exchanged at collaboration. To do that, it is essential to learn about the possible partners, their needs and human as well as other kinds of sources. The workshop gives an overview of the LM structure and the R8 Life Member Affinity Group (LMAG) network. Currently, there are existing 30+ LMAGs in all three subregions of R8. The aim of the workshop is to demonstrate how to get-together the Sections’ LMAGs and the Student and Young Professional Committees. Not only some cooperation examples will be demonstrated but also practical advice will be provided about contact partners, financial grant sources and approval processes.