Wednesday

October 8, 2025 2:00 pm

- 2:00 pm

Olympia B

Powering Resilience at the University of Florida:

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), Microgrid, and technology deployment add strength and flexibility to UF’s utility infrastructure.

As aging infrastructure and constrained capital are at odds with growing campus utility demands, the University of Florida (UF) is deploying transformative, scalable energy strategies. A 2024 pilot at UF’s Holland district successfully demonstrated peak shaving, load shedding, and islanding using 1MW BESS, microgrid, and solar Photovoltaic. The success of this pilot, and lessons learned through implementing it, paved the way for the current deployment of a 3.8MW battery storage and 1.45MW solar project at another district. This expansion will create the ability to curtail 2MW, which qualifies the University for a curtailable electric rate projected to save over $5 million annually in utilities.

Demonstrate how BESS can enable smarter energy usage through peak shaving and load shedding, creating significant utility savings that can be reinvested back into aging systems.
Load shedding strategies that plan for curtailment events with redundancies to ensure campus systems remain operational for an uncertain, and perhaps indefinite, periods of time.
Navigating the shared governance landscape at a large university to deploy a new technology impacting the living/working/teaching environment. These stakeholders include IT, Housing, the CFO’s office, and various building administrators and faculty.
Integrating BESS, peak demand shaving, and load shedding into Building Automation Systems creating a “smart” system.
The use case for executing dynamic pilot projects as proof of concept before executing large-scale investments.

Chuck Kammin

Director of Utilities

University of Florida

Chuck has worked at the University of Florida since 2017 as the Director of Utilities for Electrical and Water Distribution Services. Chuck allocates essential resources, as UF spends around $45 million on electricity consumption each year and operates close to 2 million gallons of water per day for the use of potable water throughout campus. Chuck started his career in the Navy where he worked on steam systems which sparked his interest in engineering. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the University of Illinois.

Dean Gakos

Distributed Energy Systems,

Siemens

Dean has worked for Siemens as a project developer for distributed energy systems since 2015. At Siemens, Dean has been instrumental in the development and deployment of many energy projects across the eastern United States that utilize solar, BESS, and microgrid technologies. Dean has worked in energy since 2007 and holds a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from James Madison University.

Marc Craddock

Higher Education Lead -- Sustainability

Siemens

Marc has worked in the energy efficiency industry for over 25 years and is responsible for business development of infrastructure performance contracts within the Florida higher education business sector. In addition, he is responsible for developing and sharing best practices with the extended Siemens Sustainability team while participating as a strategic leader for targeted opportunities. Since joining Siemens in 2004, he has been responsible for the development and implementation of over $300M in efficiency pro.

More Breakout Sessions

Looking for a session? Search here:

Sessions Details

Athens, GA | October 6-10, 2025

This conference equips you with the latest knowledge and best practices, ensuring your institution remains at the forefront of innovation and compliance.