POWERGEN International 2019

Brent Nelson
Senior Energy Analyst at Ascend Analytics
Ascend Analytics


Dr. Brent Nelson is a senior energy analyst at Ascend, providing utility clients with expertise in demand management, resource planning, and renewable integration. Prior to joining Ascend, Dr. Nelson was a tenured Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Northern Arizona University, where he led a research group focused on energy systems analysis. While a professor, he also held a collaborative appointment with the directorate of Scientific Computing and Energy Analysis at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where he worked on demand flexibility models and future electrification studies. He also worked for the US Department of Energy (DOE) from 2014-2016, focusing on research and development programs for energy efficiency and demand side management. He has extensive experience in energy technology and energy system modeling, with a focus on understanding the potential impacts of future shifts in technology adoption. Dr. Nelson has also consulted for several companies, universities, and governmental organizations on market strategy, technical analysis, and energy/sustainability initiatives. He was a contributing author to the 2015 DOE Quadrennial Technology Review, three NREL reports, and numerous other scientific publications. He holds PhD and MS degrees in mechanical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

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