DC Green Scene

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
• Eran Mahrer, Director of Renewable Energy, APS
• Brian Robertson, Chief Executive Officer, Amonix
• Bob Powell, Chief Executive, Solar Power Partners
• 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

REGISTRATION

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CATEGORY

• Solar
• Association & Coalition
• Economy

TYPE

Conference