Solar Policy and Economics Forum USA

Introduction

Solar policies and economics are changing. The cost of manufacturing and installing a solar power system has decreased significantly over the last couple of decades whilst the cost for generating electricity from conventional sources have been rising, along with natural gas. The solar energy potential in the United States is endless with high insolation values in the west and policies coming into place for a burgeoning solar industry. Whilst the sector is creeping ever closer to grid parity, there is still a need for incentives, grants and rebates to develop a strong market and assist in the advancement and installation of solar capacity.

Policies are constantly evolving at both federal and state level. The U.S. is a vibrant hub of activity at present as the changes are becoming much more favorable for the solar industry. The PACE program is increasing uptake on the residential front, long guarantee programs are assisting in the development of novel technologies and feed-in-tariffs are promising much excitement for large scale projects.

Low cost technologies streaming in from China and Taiwan are having significant impacts on the US solar sector and stimulating much discussion. The ‘made in America’ legislation offers some comfort to some companies whilst forcing others, both domestic and international, to re-evaluate their strategy and location of operations.

With the senate election looming and with the Democrats having already lost some of their majority, questions are being raised on how this will affect US solar policy.

As such, the times are turbulent but with much potential being shown there is a real feeling of the USA being on the cusp of exciting new developments.

Held in Washington DC in September, the 3rd Annual Solar Policy & Economics Forum will examine the status and potential of the US solar market at the end of the 2010 legislative period. With its strategic location in Washington, the forum will not only assemble the key players from the solar industry but also bring together policy makers, lobbyists and the financial community. With this unique mix of attendees this established conference has become the place to attend for expert analysis and focussed discussions on the current status of US policy and the impacts this and other factors have on the economics of solar in the country.

Key reasons to attend

• Don’t miss the senate election special: Democrat and Republican visions for the solar industry and analysis of how the election results will affect the sector
• Discuss the most significant state and federal policy developments and discover how they impact you
• Evaluate the business case of basing yourself in the US with increasingly rigid stipulations for access to incentives
• Hear how the solar sector can get better access to the 1705 loan guarantee programme and streamline applications with the Bureau of Land Management
• Explore the potential of wholesale distributed power generation
• Hear how utilities view their presence in the solar sector from developing PPAs to owning their own solar power generation
• Examine how PACE and solar leases are stimulating residential solar markets and how this is being felt in the industry
• Discover when to expect feed-in tariffs and where
• Discuss when long term debt financing will become available and why it isn’t there now
• Held in Washington rather than on the west coast, benefit from a unique set up with policy makers & financial giants
• As the 18th event in the solar series don’t miss your opportunity to attend one of the networking events of the year!

Who will you meet?

• Government officials and regulators
• Utilities
• Solar technology manufacturers
• Solar project developers
• Solar distributers and installers
• Venture capitalists
• Private equity firms
• Legal experts & consultants
• Banks
• Industry analysts
• Lobbyists
• Associations

Confirmed speakers include:

• Roger Ballentine, President, Green Strategies, Former Chairman, White House Climate Change Task Force, Deputy Assistant to President Clinton, Environmental Initiatives & Founding Board Member, ACORE
• Tom Doyle, President and Chief Executive Officer, NRG Solar
• Arno Harris, Chief Executive Officer, Recurrent Energy
• Al Bucknam, Chief Executive Officer, Sundurance Energy
• Eran Mahrer, Director of Renewable Energy, APS
• Brian Robertson, Chief Executive Officer, Amonix
• Bob Powell, Chief Executive Officer, Solar Power Partners
• John Woolard, President & Chief Executive Officer, Brightsource
• Kevin Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Solar Reserve
• Danny Kennedy, Founder, Sungevity
• John Lushetsky, Program Manager, Solar Energy Technology Program, U.S. Department of Energy
• Mike Nedd, Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management
• Michael R. Peevey, President, California Public Utilities Commission
• Cisco DeVries, President, Renewable Funding
• Michael Eckhart, President, ACORE
• Michael Skelly, Founder & President, Clean Line Partners
• Edward Fenster, Chief Executive Officer, SunRun
• Carrie Cullen Hitt,  President, The Solar Alliance
• Doug Payne, Executive Director, Solartech Consortium
• Craig Lewis, Founding Principle, RightCycle and FIT Coalition
• Nikolai Dobrott, Partner, Apricum
• Nancy E Pfund, Managing Partner, DBL Investors
• Nancy Hartsoch, Director, CPV Consortium
• Shyam Mehta, Senior Solar Analyst, GTM Research
• Carrie Cullen Hitt, President, The Solar Alliance
• Karin Berry, Senior Account Manager, Renewable Energy, PNC Energy Capital Group
• Richard Asplund, Research Director, MAC Solar Index
• Craig Cornelius, Managing Director, Hudson Clean Energy Partners
• Gerald Fine, President & Chief Executive Officer,  Schott Solar
• Chad Stuckey, Trina Solar
• Paul O’Hop, Head, Renewable Energy Industry Group, Squire Sanders
• Danielle Merfeld, Leader, Solar Technologies Platform, GE Global Research
• Adam Browning, Executive Director, The Vote Solar Initiative
• Chris O’Brien, Head of Market Development, Oerlikon Solar

 

Agenda outline

Conference Day One | Tuesday 14 September 2010

Overview of the US Solar Market

• The US political outlook and its impact on the solar sector
• Review of US solar economics
• Review of US solar policies

Developments in US Feed in Tariffs

• Summary of initiatives at the state, city & county level
• Current hurdles and timelines for implementation
• Critique and analysis of Europe & the Ontario’s feed-in tariffs: what should the US take from these?

Finance and Funding

• Why has the solar sector had so little success in being granted loan guarantees under the 1705 program?
• Finance and investment options for the solar industry
• When will long term debt financing become readily available?

Conference Day Two | Wednesday 15 September 2010-08-10

Issues for Large Scale Power Development

• Is the US grid and regulatory framework ready for solar power?
• How can the problems of oversubscription and reluctance to finance substations be overcome?
• Streamlining and overcoming bureaucracy in land permitting issues with the BLM

Technology Economics

• The Buy American Act, low cost technologies and the impact on the future location of technology manufacturing
• Thin film PV
• Concentrating PV
• Concentrating solar thermal

Increasing demand for solar power

• Wholesale distributed generation
• The inclusion of solar water heating in the California solar initiative
• Residential solar financing options: PACE, PPAs and the solar lease

Training courses

Pre-conference | Monday 13 September 2010

A 1-day primer for non-engineers.

Course objectives
Whether you are new to the industry or simply want to refresh and update your knowledge, this one-day training course will ensure you are up-to-speed with the key technologies driving the solar energy industry. You will learn about harnessing the sun's energy through silicon and thin-film photovoltaics (PV) plus through solar thermal collection and power conversion; including concentrating and utility-scale systems in both cases.  Technologies are placed in their relevant business context, ensuring that you also understand the factors which will decide their commercial success or failure.

Approximate Timing
Course begins:            9:00               Course ends:   5.00

To complement this course and understand the commercial factors influencing the solar industry, we recommend also attending our “Solar Power Economics” course – save money by booking both together

Post-conference | Thursday 16 September 2010

A 1-day practical primer on quantifying solar power’s market competitiveness

Course objectives
Accessible to non-experts, industry newcomers and those with little or no technical or financial background, this one-day course describes and illustrates (using simple calculations and models) the factors which determine the competitiveness of solar power in current and future electricity markets. It will discuss markets for solar power, physical limits on the solar resource, influences (both technological and otherwise) on its cost, challenges in integrating solar into future grid supplies, and the comparative attributes of competing options (both renewable and fossil).

Approximate Timing
Course begins:            9:00               Course ends:   4:00

 

Speaking opportunities

If you are interested in speaking at this event please submit a speaking proposal (presentation title, 4-5 bullet points and brief synopsis) to Laura Dinnewell:

Email: laura.dinnewell@greenpowerconferences.com

Sponsorship & Exhibition opportunities

Silver sponsors:

Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL) is a well recognized manufacturer of high quality modules.  Trina Solar is a PV manufacturer that has developed a vertically integrated business model from the production of monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon ingots, wafers and cells to the assembly of high quality modules. Trina Solar's products provide reliable and environmentally-friendly electric power.  For further information, please visit Trina Solar's website at http://www.trinasolar.com

Supporting sponsor:

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Sponsor Solar Policy & Economics Forum and benefit from:

• 1st class lead generation: meet companies actively working in the solar industry
• Enhanced brand profile: pre-event promotional campaign plus extensive on site branding
• Excellent publicity: gain an incredible amount of presence from on site promotion
• A cost effective marketing solution: our development team will be happy to customize a package and develop a cost effective marketing channel to generate new sales leads

Sponsorship options offering varying levels of branding and exposure are available to suit budgets and marketing aims.
For further details please contact:

Sean Budway
Tel: +1 702 430 1832 l Fax: +1 702 655 1356
E-mail: sean.budway@greenpowerconferences.com

Partners

Endorsedby:

AltaTerra Research is the research firm focused on environmentally sustainable business and the corporate market for clean technology. With research reports, advisory services and executive education, AltaTerra helps business leaders make informed decisions on sustainability strategies, practices and cleantech solutions. AltaTerra’s Solar Power Group addresses a variety of topics related to corporate, commercial and large-scale solar power. To search our online catalog of publicly available research, summaries of proprietary reports, and blogs and industry event listings, please visit the AltaTerra Research Network website at www.AltaTerra.net.

Media partners:

 

Official Offset Partner:

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Green Power Conferences consistently works in strategic partnership with industry leading organizations and trade publications. Our international and targeted marketing campaigns ensure excellent marketing exposure for our partners.

If you would like to partner with us, please contact Caroline Bissell 
Tel: +44 (0)20 7099 0600 | Fax: +44 (0)20 7900 1853
Email: caroline.bissell@greenpowerconferences.com

Venue

Washington Marriott, 1221 22nd Street NW
Washington, District Of Columbia, 20037 USA
Phone: +1 202 872 1500 Fax: +1 202 872 1424
http://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/travel/waswe-washington-marriott/