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Posted By Jon Guice,
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
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These are two conferences with a day of overlap: Photovoltaics Summit has run April 17-18; Concentrating Solar Thermal Power, April 18-19. Registrants for one of the conference are permitted to participate in the other.
The PV conference was mostly focused on large-scale solar. The CSP conference was entirely concerned with utility solar.
The attendees I spoke with—with experience in the industry ranging from months to decades—have found these conferences to have unusually good content. The conference organizers have, once again, done an admirably job of setting the intellectual agenda, selecting speakers and requiring that speakers be prepared and on-topic. Since I have attended both conferences before, I noticed same faces in the program as last year, and they seem familiar from even earlier years. For many attendees, since they weren’t here last year, this isn’t a problem. I wonder how many others, though, like me, feel shortchanged on the global diversity of CSP and PV players when we see the same speakers and organizers again.
It’s unusual for a PV conference to be staged back-to-back with a CSP gathering. They have in common the high-stakes, high growth market of utilities as customers. However, it’s difficult not to escape the fact that some large, headline-grabbing projects switched from CSP to PV recently in the US. Inexpensive silicon modules, from China and elsewhere, has, among other things, tilted the field in favor of PV.
The attendees I had lunch with emphasized that the real competition for both types of solar is inexpensive natural gas and other fossil fuels. Speakers also noted that one of the major differences is not so the technology as such but scale and financing: CSP projects typically have to be very large to be economically competitive—and thus require large amounts of capital that can be difficult to source in the current state of financial markets.
Overall, however, the rivalry between the fields appears to be diminishing somewhat as utilities recognize—and put a dollar value on—diversity in their power generation sources. The output of CSP and PV projects have different intermittency profiles throughout the day. With more transmission capacity over longer distances, we may also start to see geographic diversification of renewable portfolios, as has already been seen in Denmark and Germany, and some parties are now promoting in the United States.
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Posted By Jon Guice,
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
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This is a long-running, annual conference that attracts a wide
range of participants, and has as its "base” technical executives in the solar industry.
This year, in addition to giving a broad overview of the field, the conference
focuses on utilities as customers and a market segment. As AltaTerra Research first
pointed out in 2010, utility solar, both in the United States, has emerged as a
high-volume, high-growth segment of the market. In fact, it often represents
the largest sales volumes and highest rates of growth. Moreover, the U.S.
mirrors global trends.
Tomorrow there will be a series of sessions specifically
focused on current issues in utility-scale solar:
- Government Affairs, Federal Policy & Initiatives
- Utility Perspectives Panel: Strategies from Major Utility Companies
- Transmission Panel: Unique Perspectives from Utilities, Developers and
Regulators on Issues of Transmission
- Siting & Land Development Panel: Federal and Local Issues Facing
Utility-scale Solar Project Land Development
- Environmental Policy Panel: Environmental Issues Facing New Utility-scale Solar
Development and Topics to Watch in 2012
- Banking & Finance Panel: The Hurdles and Challenges Financing Large-scale
Solar Projects, and Featuring a Discussion of How PV and CSP Compete on the
Issue of "Bankability"
In an interesting turn of events, the "Photovoltaic
Summit" is now covering the type of utility-scale solar that specifically
does not use photovoltaics. CSP comes up in the agenda on the second day of the
conference and now the organizers have added a third day devoted to CSP.
Registered attendees of Photovoltaics Summit 2012 are invited to attend
Concentrating Solar Thermal Power day on Thursday, April 19.
Here is a summary of that day’s agenda:
CSP Conference Day
Introductory
Concentrating Solar Thermal Technology Applied to Enhanced
Oil Recovery
The Value of Thermal Storage
Large-Scale Project Updates: Facility Managers and Developers Discuss
Major Issues Facing CSP Facilities, and Creative Ways Sites are
Overcoming Obstacles
CSP Construction and Plant Development in the US Southwest
Ivanpah Solar
Crescent Dunes
EPC Market Status & Contracting Considerations
CSP Power Block: Innovations to Create Customer Value
CSP: A Solar Boost to Existing Power Plants
CSP R&D within the U.S. DOE's SunShot Initiative
Design Advancements in CSP Technology
Breakthroughs in PCM Thermal Storage for CSP
Thermal Storage in Sand - A Radical Shift in the TES Cost
Curve
Status of the Ultimate Trough Development
Advanced CSP Trough Design
Parabolic Trough Hybrid Applications
Design Advancement Q&A with TERRAFORE, US SOLAR
THERMAL STORAGE, FLABEG, ALCOA and SKYFUEL
Industry participants tend to focus on the competition
between PV and CSP—because it is in fact real and immediate, with direct
consequences for the fates of companies that are struggling to grow. What's also
important is what is happening in the competitive context surrounding both
types of solar for utility renewable energy customers.
What’s really happening in utility-scale PV and CSP? I plan
to attend and report some of my observations here.
For more information and to register, see AltaTerra’s overview of the
conference http://www.altaterra.net/events/event_details.asp?id=196289.
As a supporting organization, we are pleased
to be able to offer a 10% discount to our contacts. Simply mention
AltaTerra when you register by phone or email. Or you can use the code
"AltaTerra” when you register online. Contact John Buss at +202-309-7296 or john.buss@pira-international.com.
Tags:
California
cleantech
conference
environmental sustainability
IntertechPira
Photovoltaics Summit
PV Summit
San Diego
solar
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Posted By Administration,
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
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I attended the 2012 Solar Power Finance & Investment
Summit in Rancho Bernardo, California, organized by Infocast. I managed to
attend part of a pre-conference workshop on February 28, and the afternoon of
the first day of the conference on February 29.
The organizers call this a "deal-making event”: "where
the solar power and financial communities come together year after year to
network and conduct business.” As I mentioned in my
pre-conference blog post, the focus is on business, rather than
technology, and on PV in the U.S. markets. How do PV companies get money for
their companies, for their projects and for their customers?
Just as important as the content was the ‘vibe’ of the event
and who shows up. I spent as much time in one-on-one conversations and
networking sessions as in the conference sessions—as one should for this type
of event. While the industry has seen difficult changes, the morale at the
event was high. The conference producer, Sarah Niss, has been putting together
these meetings for years, and along with her colleagues, and knows how to bring
the right people into the room and set a productive tone.
Many of the presentations were from the narrow perspective
of a particular company’s promotional agenda. The conversational panel sessions
often provided a deep view into the day-to-day work of one person in the value
chain.
The concentrating PV
manufacturer and developer Soitec, for example, gave a presenation in the
flat-out promotional mode, for example, emphasizing the bankability of its
technology and the growth of its market. Citing work by Strategy Analytics, the
speaker claimed (and I quote verbatim):
- CPV sales 2015:1400MW
worldwide
- CPV market will
grow at CAGR of 174%
- Installed solar
capacity 2020 in the US: 50GW (~50% in CA)
-Jon Guice, Cofounder and Advisor, AltaTerra Research
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Posted By Administration,
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
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Tomorrow I will be attending the Solar Power Finance &
Investment Summit in Rancho Bernardo, California, organized by Infocast.
In the conference sessions the focus is on business, rather
than technology, and on industry-facing topics, rather than customer-facing
ones. The focus is also squarely on PV in the U.S. markets. In other words: How
do PV companies get money for their companies, for their projects and for their
customers?
The speaker lineup is a cross-section of current movers and
shakers in the industry. Topics include: the tax equity market, deal bundling,
panel and other equipment prices. The full agenda follows below.
I will be attending the first day of the conference only
because of a scheduling conflict. Stay tuned for a review.
-Jon Guice, Cofounder and Advisor, AltaTerra Research
 Download File (PDF)
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Posted By Eric Paul,
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
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In the past decade, organizations and institutions have begun
investing in on-site renewable energy to reduce energy costs and meet
environmental goals. Evaluating,
financing, and deploying on-site renewable energy can present a number of
challenges for facility owners and operators. These challenges range from high level issues, such as the
business case for on-site renewables, to practical implementation questions,
such how do you conduct an RFI or RFP to procure renewable energy.
On January 18, I will be joining leading corporate and
institutional facility managers, renewable energy developers, and financers to
discuss the challenges and opportunities of deploying on-site renewable systems
at EUCI’s Utilizing
Clean Power Development On-Site conference. The conference will provide a
roadmap and tools for facility owners and operators to proactively analyze and
evaluate smart on-site clean energy investments.
The Utilizing Clean Power Development On-site conference is taking
place in two weeks from Wednesday, January 18 through Thursday, January 19 in
Philadelphia. For more
information and details on how to register visit http://www.euci.com/events/index.php?ci=1500&t=O.
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Posted By Eric Paul,
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
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Next week, representatives from AltaTerra
Research will join leading corporations, renewable energy generators, and
utilities in San Francisco for the Renewable Energy Markets (REM) 2011
Conference. REM is one of the
premier conferences gathering renewable energy generators, sellers, and
utilities with corporate green power purchasers, policymakers, and communities
to discuss the latest trends and best practices in buying and selling green
power.
In the past decade, corporate and institutional
green power use, either in the form of off-site green power purchases or
on-site renewable systems, has increased dramatically. As organizational use of green power
continues to expand, organizations are facing a myriad of new questions. These questions range from high level
issues, such as the business case for green power, to practical implementation
questions, such as how do you effectively market your green power efforts. Other topics to be explored include On-site
renewables vs. RECs, Green Marketing: Customer Trends and Profiles, The Nexus
between Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Renewable Energy, LEED and Green Building:
Buildings and Renewable Energy, and FTC Green Guides: Marketing Claims and
Legal Issues. REM 2011 will
provide a unique chance to have many of these key questions by leading industry
experts.
The REM 2011 Conference is taking place next
week from Tuesday through Friday in San Francisco at the Parc 55 Wyndham Union
Square Hotel. For more information
and details on how to register visit, http://www.renewableenergymarkets.com/.
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Posted By Eric Paul,
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
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This past week I attended the Advanced Renewable Energy Project Finance and Analysis conference hosted by Infocast in San Francisco. The conference, which was designed to provide a tutorial on developing and financing large-scale renewable energy projects, drew a diverse crowd from various professions and industries. The popularity of the conference was an indication of increased interest by the business community in developing and financing renewable energy projects. Many of the attendees were from real estate or construction firms, which are exploring how to incorporate renewable energy into their current offerings and properties. Others are interested in starting up their own development companies.
Project financing is by all means a complex and strenuous process even for someone with years of experience. There are no cookie-cutter deals; every transaction will bring its own unique set of challenges and opportunities. From identifying a site to getting the appropriate permits to determining transmission requirements, there are hundreds of different risks that developers and investors must address before a project can be financed. The ability of a developer to solve many of these challenges is crucial for a project to receive financing.
For some project financing is seen as a way for organizations to develop a renewable energy project while parking assets off of their balance sheet, avoiding restrictions on debt, or shifting their debt to offshore accounts. However, this cynical view is simply not the case. Large-scale renewable energy projects, which can easily cost in excess of $100 million, require investors to help developers finance projects, monetize tax credits, and achieve more favorable financing terms.
A few other observations from the conference:
- Strong credit rating of off-takers is vital. Investors and financiers need to be confident that whoever is buying the energy will be around to buy energy for the life of the project.
- The further developed a project is, the easier it will be to get financing. Investors and financiers want the developer to have resolved all issues before they begin looking for financing.
- Investors and financiers are inherently risk averse. Financiers want a project to have as little risk as possible to ensure their returns. This means that financiers are less likely to finance new technologies and are happier working with established EPC firms and developers.
- Low natural gas prices continue to be a barrier for renewable energy. For utilities and other off-takers of renewable energy, natural gas prices often set the marginal price of electricity, against which renewable energy must compete. With low prices many of these organizations will simply install greater natural gas capacity.
As the renewable energy industries continue to grow and large-scale projects become more common, a strong understanding of project financing is important for anyone involved in the renewable energy space.
Tags:
Infocast
project finance
Renewable energy
San Francisco
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Posted By Jon Guice,
Thursday, May 05, 2011
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Algae
World Summit 2011
May
23-25
Hilton Del Mar, near San Diego,
California
The
central question of this event is: How
can algae industry participants assemble an environmentally and economically
sustainable value chain?
Algae
is now being used for biofuels and a growing list of new product categories,
including:
- Pharmaceuticals
- "Nutriceuticals”—human
food supplements
- Animal feed
- Agricultural
fertilizer
- Cosmetics and
other consumer products
- Biopolymers
and other bio-based chemicals
Large, established companies in these industries
are evaluating algae and could play future roles as
customers, joint venture partners, and technology suppliers.
As
a biofuel, algae can be used to produce ethanol, diesel, and butanol. Biofuels
are the largest volume market, but also one of the lowest margin markets.
There’s the rub: Today algae is economical for products sold in thousands of
dollars per kilo, but not to fill your tank.
Algae
is too expensive for fuel, in part because of competition with the incumbency
and subsidies offered petroleum products, but also because of the many steps
and materials required today to grow, harvest, tear apart, and process the
biomass.
Algae
also faces natural resource limitations. While algae itself is far more
productive than, for example, plants that spend their energy growing roots in
soil and self-supporting stems, the conditions for growing algae "in captivity”
and in quantity require large amounts of land, water, energy, materials, and
labor. In this respect, two key talks in the conference may turn out to be:
- Challenges to
Scaling-Up Algae Technologies to Commercial Operations
- Assessing the
Real Near-term Opportunity in Algal Technology in Light of Biomass
The
field is still very young. As you can see in the list below of speakers by
their place in the value chain, the number of individuals representing R&D
groups, generally from universities, is much larger than the set of people in any
other category:
- Analysts
- Andrew Soare, Research Associate, LUX RESEARCH
- Professional
services providers
- John Pierce, Partner, WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI
- R&D
groups
- Mark R.
Edwards, Professor,
ARIZONA STATE
UNIVERSITY
- Juergen Polle, Professor, Department of Biology;
Associate Director, Aquatic Research & Environmental Assessment Center, BROOKLYN COLLEGE OF CUNY
- Tobias Kind, Assistant Project Scientist,
Metabolomics, UC
DAVIS
GENOME
CENTER
- Krish
Jayachandran, Associate
Professor of Environmental Microbiology, Dept. of Earth and Environment, FLORIDA
INTERNATIONAL
UNIVERSITY
- Anne M.
Ruffing, Truman Fellow,
Bioenergy and Defense Technologies,
SANDIA NATIONAL
LABORATORIES
- B. Greg
Mitchell, Research
Biologist, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA,
SAN DIEGO; Associate Director, SAN DIEGO CENTER FOR ALGAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
- Keith
Cooksey, Professor, MONTANA
STATE
UNIVERSITY
- John Hewson, Technical Staff, Engineering Sciences
Center, SANDIA
NATIONAL
LABORATORIES
- Jeri Timlin, Technical Staff, Biological &
Materials Sciences Center, SANDIA
NATIONAL
LABORATORIES
- Blake Simmons, Vice President of Deconstruction, JOINT
BIOENERGY
INSTITUTE
- Pete Silks, Team Leader, LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
- Xinyao Liu, Research Associate, The Biodesign
Institute, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
- Ji-Won Yang, Professor, Department of Chemical
and Biomolecular Engineering, KAIST (KOREA
ADVANCED
INSTITUTE
OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY) & CEO, ADVANCED BIOMASS R&D CENTER
- Technology
developers and providers
- Leslie van
der Meulen, Chief
Technology Officer, AURORA
ALGAE
- Ron Henson, Supply Chain Manager, PHYCOBIOSCIENCES
- Russell Teall, President & Founder, BIODIESEL INDUSTRIES, INC.
- Mark Warner, Senior V.P., Process Industries,
HARRIS GROUP,
INC.
- Mike Campbell, Director Energy Systems Division, LOGOS
TECHNOLOGIES
- Paul Reep, Senior Vice President of Technology, ORIGIN
OIL
- Joel Butler, Chief Executive Officer, SOLIX BIOFUELS
- Barry
Toyonaga, Chief Business
Officer, KENT BIOENERGY CORPORATION
- Stanton J.
Barnes, Founder and CEO,
BIOALGENE
- ALLEN ARADI, Manager, Customer
Technical Service, ALBEMARLE
- Corporate
majors
- James M.
Andersen, Business Director,
Green Fuels and Chemicals, UOP HONEYWELL
- Bryan Yeh, Assistant Vice President,
Biofuels, Infrastructure, Logistics and Product Solutions Group, SAIC
- Representative
to be announced, CARGILL
- Lucie
Bednarova Duesterhoeft, Senior
Researcher, Global R&D, GENERAL
MOTORS
- Pete He, Senior Research Fellow, Technology
Acquisition, Sustainability, HENKEL
CONSUMER
GOODS
INC.
- Amit Vasavada, Program Manager, GENERAL ATOMICS
- Investors
- Jim Long, Partner, GABRIEL VENTURE PARTNERS
- John J.
McKenna, Managing
Director, HAMILTON CLARK
& CO.
- Sandeep
H. Patel, Managing Director, Investment Banking, BARCLAYS CAPITAL
Register for this event at http://www.altaterra.net/events/event_details.asp?id=158062. AltaTerra members receive a 10% discount.
Tags:
algae
Infocast
Jon Guice
San Diego
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Posted By Jon Guice,
Thursday, April 14, 2011
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Santa Barbara Summit on Energy Efficiency 2011
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When:
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April 26-27, 2011
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Where:
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The Four Seasons Biltmore
1260 Channel Drive
Santa Barbara,California93108
United States
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Contact:
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Courtney Richardson (information@iee.ucsb.edu)
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The organizers of this conference just added a speakers
from Chevron Energy Solutions and Tesla Motors in a session chaired by
Congresswoman Lois Capps. The talks will be followed by a discussion led by
Gregg Ander, Chief Architect at Southern California Edison.
This conference combines
university-led R&D discussion with discussions of government policy and
large-scale commercial, institutional and industrial implementation.
Policy-wise the focus is mainly on U.S. federal and state agencies as R&D
funders and customers.
This is a busy spring for AltaTerra Research, so we
won’t be able to have as many people at this event as we’d like. This is too bad because we have active research and consulting in most of the areas covered on the agenda, including solar power, data centers, and the flagship topic, energy efficiency in the operations of large organizations. A complete
listing of speakers follows below. Also, since we’ve had a lot to say about
this conference in earlier years, we list some of our commentary at the end of
this posting.
Conference Agenda
Tuesday, April 26
|
8:30-8:45AM
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Welcome
Henry
Yang, Chancellor, UC Santa Barbara
Gene Lucas, Executive Vice Chancellor, UC Santa Barbara
John Bowers, Director, Institute for Energy Efficiency
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8:45-9:30AM
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Opening Keynote
Bill
Brinkman, Director, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy
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9:30-10:55AM
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The Sunshot Initiative
The Department of Energy's newest
program aimed at reducing the cost of solar power to $1/Watt.
Moderator:
Shayle Kann, Managing Director, Solar Research, Green Tech Media Research
- Ramamoorthy Ramesh, Program
Manager, Solar Energy Technologies Program, U.S. Department of Energy;
Senior Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Ryne Raffaelle, Director,
National Center for Photovoltaics, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Jack Peurach, Executive Vice
President, R&D, SunPower Corporation
- Lynda Ziegler, Executive
Vice President, Power Delivery Services, Southern California Edison
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10:55-11:15AM
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Break
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11:15AM-12:30PM
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Tomorrow's Grid – Prospects for a
Smarter Energy Future
The current state of smart grid technology, integrating
renewables into the grid, potential opportunities for energy efficiency, and
issues including standards and security.
Moderator:
Richard Harris, Science Correspondent, NPR
- Chris Knudsen, Director,
Technology Innovation Center, Pacific Gas & Electric
- Steve Hauser, Vice President
of Grid Integration, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Paul De Martini, Chief
Technology Officer and Vice President of Innovation, Connected Energy
Group, Cisco
|
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12:30-2:00PM
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Networking Lunch
On the Monte
Vista Lawn
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2:00-3:15PM
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Research Highlights from the
Institute for Energy Efficiency
The latest advances in energy efficiency research at UCSB, featuring new work
on silicon photonics, battery storage, and solid-state lighting.
Moderator:
Michael Witherell, Vice Chancellor for Research, UCSB
- John Bowers, Professor of
Electrical & Computer Engineering; Director, Silicon Photonics
Center, Institute for Energy Efficiency, and Center for Energy Efficient
Materials, UCSB
- Dan Morse, Professor of
Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, UCSB
- Jim Speck, Professor of
Materials and Director, Interdisciplinary Centre for Wide Band-Gap
Semiconductors, UCSB
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3:15-3:45PM
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Break
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3:45-5:00PM
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Energy-Efficient Supercomputing
and Datacenters at Large Scale
A preview of the next generation of supercomputers and the enormous challenge
exascale supercomputers face with regard to energy efficiency.
Moderator:
Fred Chong, Computing Solutions Group Head, Institute for Energy Efficiency
- Horst Simon, Deputy
Director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Pradeep Dubey, Senior
Principal Engineer, Intel
- Bikash Koley, Senior Network
Architect, Google
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5:00-6:30PM
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Reception
At the Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club, featuring local Santa Barbara
wineries and seasonal fare
|
Wednesday, April 27
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8:30-8:45AM
|
Welcome
John
Bowers, Director, Institute for Energy Efficiency
|
|
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8:45-10:00AM
|
California Perspectives on Energy
and Efficiency Innovation
Highlighting advancements in energy efficiency and
sustainable energy in the state.
Chair:Lois
Capps,Congresswoman, California - 23rd District, U.S. House of
Representatives
Moderator: Gregg Ander,Chief Architect,Southern California Edison
- David Stone,Senior
Vice President,Chevron Energy Solutions
- JB Straubel,Chief
Technology Officer,Tesla Motors
|
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10:00-10:30AM
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Office of Naval Research Efforts
Supporting Energy Efficiency Targets
Dr.
Julie Christodoulou, Director of the Naval Materials Division, Office of
Naval Research
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10:30-11:00AM
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Break
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11:00AM-12:15PM
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Commercialization of Energy
Efficient Technologies
Expediting innovation from the lab to market in today's economy.
- Jim Dehlsen, Co-Founder and
former Chairman & CEO, Clipper Windpower
- Umesh Mishra, CEO,
Transphorm
- KT Moortgat, Partner, Mohr
Davidow Ventures
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12:15-2:00PM
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Lunch and Closing Keynote
Matt
Rogers, Senior Director McKinsey & Company; former Senior Advisor to
Energy Secretary
Steven Chu
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|
|
Earlier AltaTerra Postings on
the Santa Barbara Summit on Energy Efficiency
Santa Barbara Summit on
Energy Efficiency 2010
...What: Santa Barbara Summit on Energy Efficiency 2010 When: May
12-13, 2010...
Santa Barbara Summit on
Energy Efficiency
...Institute for Energy Efficiency at the University of
California in Santa Barbara
will host the first Santa Barbara Summit on Energy Efficiency...
Expert
Picks: Near Term High Growth Technologies
...Presentation by Jon Guice, Managing Director of Research,
AltaTerra Research Santa Barbara Summit on Energy Efficiency, May 13, 2010
Video and presentation...
Update:
Santa Barbara Summit's
"Promising Technologies" Session
...Earlier I wrote a note about the Santa Barbara Summit
on Energy Efficiency next week, May 12-13, 2010...
Expert
Pick: Cool Technology
...I’ve been writing recently about the Santa Barbara Summit
on Energy Efficiency next week, May 12-13, 2010...
Santa Barbara Summit on
Energy Efficiency
Posted In Zen and the Art of Data Center Greening (and
Energy Efficiency)
...a conference on May 20th and 21st on the UC Santa Barbara campus.
The schedule is given here. One session that attracts...
Tags:
Santa Barbara Summit on Energy Efficiency
SBSEE
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Posted By Jon Guice,
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
|
On February 23-25, I attended IntertechPira’s "Concentrating Solar Thermal Power 2011" in Scottsdale, Arizona. AltaTerra was a supporting organization of this third annual event.
While solar thermal, and even concentrating solar power, can be deployed at a range of scales and involve various types of customers, this conference (and the field of CSP in general) is focused on utility-scale plants and utilities as customers.
The conference started off with the CEOs of manufacturers and other high-level industry executives providing an overview of their activities and their outlook on the global CSP market. That first session articulated the consensus theme of all of the discussion: CSP of this kind requires a "trifecta" of transmission, financing, and permitting. While the conference was dominated by these three issues, there were also presentations and panel discussions on market trends, broader planning and regulatory issues, technical developments, and materials advancements. (The conference brochure, including agenda, is available for download below.)
Attendees were mostly in manufacturing, with some service providers and project developers. Who was not at the conference this year? Strangely, it was utilities. Utilities are among those who would benefit most directly from the discussion at this conference, so I hope to see more of them as speakers, discussants, and participants next year.
Download File (PDF)
Tags:
Arizona
IntertechPira
Jon Guice
solar
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