Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Jennifer Gardner, Denver Law LLM in Environmental and Natural Resources Graduate, is now working for the Western Interstate Energy Board

Jennifer Gardner is currently working for the Western Interstate Energy Board ("WIEB"), which is the energy arm of the Western Governors' Association (WGA). In her new role, Jennifer commented that she "conducts policy analysis in the field of electricity transmission, with a focus on the structure of the electricity market in the Western Inteconnection. "Jennifer added that she "serves in a policy advocacy role, pushing for the Western Interconnection to restructure its 38 balancing authorities (which each individually balance demand and resources of electricity in relatively small geographic areas in the West) into one large balancing authority or a few larger balancing authorities. The push for this restructuring has recently been focused on an Energy Imbalance Market ("EIM"). The ultimate goal of restructuring is to make the incorporation of renewable energy to the electric grid easier, less costly, and more efficient." In this role, Jennifer has worked with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Department of Energy, the American Wind Energy Association and Xcel Energy.