Stabilize and Optimize Coal Power: Program Portfolio Kick-off Meeting - PROCEEDINGS

• Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Welcome 
Sean Plasynski, Acting Director, NETL, DOE

Keynote Panel
John Lassek, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Subsurface Energy, HGEO, DOE
Sarah Forbes, Director, Office of Coal, HGEO, DOE

Coal and Power Portfolio Overview
Dan Hancu, Director, Power & Capture, Office of Coal, HGEO, DOE

Maximizing the Value of the U.S. Coal Fleet
Michelle Bloodworth, President and Chief Executive Officer, America’s Power

Project Session 1: Integrated Power-Block Modernization

• Cardinal – Buckeye Power
  Paul Jackson, Director, Major Projects and Construction, Buckeye Power
   
• Belews Creek – Duke Energy Carolinas
  Steven Castagnero, Director, Fleet Outage & Project Governance, Duke Energy Carolinas
   
• Antelope Valley – Basin Electric Power Cooperative
  Joshua Raynes, Performance Engineer, Basin Electric Power Cooperative
   
• Flint Creek – Southwestern Electric Power Company
  Richard Gilingham, Engineer Principal, Southwestern Electric Power Company
   
• Cumberland – Tennessee Valley Authority
  Brad Geremia, Senior Manager, Generation Projects, Tennessee Valley Authority

 
Working Lunch: Meet Technical Resources

NETL Coal Center of Excellence Overview 
Nathan Weiland, Acting Director, Coal Center of Excellence, NETL, DOE
Anthony Burgard, Division Director, Coal, Center for Systems Analysis, NETL, DOE
 
High-Level Articles and Project Administration Overview
W. Ryan Simmons, Grants and Agreements Officer, Office of Management, DOE

Project Session 2: Integrated Plant-Wide Supporting-System Modernization

• Mountaineer and Amos – Appalachian Power
  James Rappach, Managing Director, Regional Engineering, Projects & Tech Services, Appalachian Power
   
• Roxboro – Duke Energy Progress
  Robert Myron, Project Director, Duke Energy Progress
   
• Grand River Energy Center – Grand River Dam Authority
  Robert Ladd, Vice President, Power Supply Planning & Generation Marketing, Grand River Dam Authority

Business Case Analysis: Guidance and Expectations
Eric Grol, Federal Project Manager, NETL, DOE

Project Session 3: Targeted Unit Modernization and Operating-Constraint Mitigation

• Kyger Creek – Ohio Valley Electric
  Thomas Staats, Plant Manager, Ohio Valley Electric
   
• Apache – Arizona Electric Power Cooperative
  Nathen Hatch, Principal Engineer, Arizona Generation & Transmission Cooperatives
   
• East Bend – Duke Energy Kentucky
  Douglas Corson, Manager, Generation Project Engineering, Duke Energy Kentucky
   
• Sooner – Oklahoma Gas and Electric
  Garrett Hutchings, Supervisor, Electrical Engineering, Oklahoma Gas & Electric
   
• Ghent – Kentucky Utilities
  Brian Limberg, Senior Manager, Major Project Development, Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities Energy, LLC 

• Wednesday, October 7, 2026

The Power of Persistence: Cleaning Up the Past
Jason Burden, Managing Director, Generation, Big Rivers Electric Corporation
Holly Hills, Project Manager, Environmental & Process Technologies, Sargent & Lundy

Project Session 4: Critical Enabling Infrastructure — Coal/Ash Handling and Cooling

• Fort Martin – Monongahela Power
  Justin Brown, Manager, Project and Outage Services, FirstEnergy
   
• Columbia – Wisconsin Power and Light Company, dba Alliant Energy
  James Fleming, Director of Generation, Alliant Energy
   
• Mitchell – Wheeling Power
  Shawn Malone, Director of Programs, American Electric Power Service Corporation

Project Session 5: Water Management and Advanced Wastewater Systems

• Merom – Hallador Power
  Blake Cutrell, Chief of Staff, Hallador Energy
   
• Baker Hughes
  Sankaran Murugesan, Research Scientist, Baker Hughes
   
• Heartland Water Technology
  Matthew Schroeder, Senior Director, Engineering, Heartland Water Technology
   
• Laramie River – University of Wyoming
  Erica Belmont, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Wyoming
   
• Spurlock – University of Kentucky Research Foundation
  Jesse Thompson, Ph.D., Associate Director, Institute for Decarbonization and Energy Advancement, University of Kentucky Research Foundation

Project Session 6: Fuel Flexibility

• Spurlock and Cooper – East Kentucky Power Cooperative
  Sean Alteri, Senior Environmental Engineer, East Kentucky Power Cooperative
   
• Spurlock – East Kentucky Power Cooperative
  Sean Alteri, Senior Environmental Engineer, East Kentucky Power Cooperative
   
• Merom – Hallador Power
  Scott McGuire, Senior Corporate Engineer, Hallador Energy
  Joe Bisesi, Principal Account Manager, Northeast, Hallador Energy
   
• Dallman – University of Illinois
  Kevin O'Brien, Ph.D., Director, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, University of Illinois
   
• Zolo Carbon Smartech
  Eric Huelson, Director of Product Development, Zolo Carbon Smartech