EVENT
Solar & Energy Storage Summit 2024
June 12-13, 2024
08:00 - 17:00 PT
Hilton San Francisco Financial District, San Francisco, CA
Interested in our event? Contact us to learn more.
Early Bird tickets are $1495 USD per person. Save $200 off the $1695 standard rate when you book by May 17. Wood Mackenzie clients please contact events@woodmac.com for further discounts.
From IRA implementation to grid interconnection queues: what is the future of solar and energy storage in North America?
You are invited to join us from June 12-13 2024 in San Francisco
Now in its seventeenth year, Wood Mackenzie’s Solar Energy and Storage Summit will drive the conversation forward to discuss how the sector can take advantage of the opportunities provided by the IRA, foster innovation in cell and battery technology, and evolve solar and storage business models for the ever-changing energy landscape.
Attending organizations include:
ABB | GP100 Energy Advisors | Origami Solar |
Advantage Capital | Greenskies Clean Focus | Ormat Technologies, Inc. |
AESC, Inc. | GridStor | Peak Power Inc. |
Ageto Energy | GridVest Partners | Peregrine Energy Solutions |
Algonquin Power | Heliene Inc. | Permitting Council |
Alternus Energy | Hexagon Energy | Pine Gate Renewables |
Amalgamated Bank | Illinois Power Agency | Pivot Energy |
Amber Kinetics | Incubator | Portland General Electric |
American Clean Power Association | JinkoSolar | Primergy Solar |
American Securities | Juba Electricity Distribution Company (JEDCO) | QCells USA Corp |
Amperon | Jupiter Power | RealX Ventures |
Apex Clean Energy | Key Capture Energy | REV Renewables |
Ava Community Energy | Kimley-Horn | RMI |
Avantus | Krannich Solar USA West | RotorVault, Inc. |
Black & Veatch | Kruger Inc | Rushton Atlantic, LLC |
Blattner Company | Langan Engineering | RWE Clean Energy |
Bloomberg (News) | Latitude Media | Saber Power Services |
Blue Ridge Power | Let's Share the Sun | San Jose Clean Energy |
California Energy Commission | Leeward Renewable Energy | SB Energy |
California Public Utilities Commission | LG & E | Segue Sustainable Infrastructure |
Canadian Solar Inc | Lightsource BP | Shell |
Cargill-Power Systems | Lime Rock New Energy | Silicon Ranch |
Clark Public Utilities | Linea Energy | Solar Proponent LLC |
CleanCapital | Longroad Energy | Solaris Energy |
Clearway Energy Group | Lower Colorado River Authority | Solectria |
Continuum Renewables | Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources | SOLV Energy |
Cosmos energies | Microsoft | Spearmint Energy |
Crowe LLP | MN8 Energy | SRP |
Cypress Creek Renewables | MOL(Americas)Holdings,Inc. | Stonebridge Securities |
Dartboard Energy | Mosaic | TD Cowen |
DSD Renewables | National Cooperative Bank | Terra-Gen |
EDP Renewables North America | National Renewable Energy Laboratory | Tesla |
ENGIE North America | New Energy Equity | Tipmont REMC |
ENGIE Renewables North America | New Leaf Energy Inc | Trina Solar US |
EnTech Solutions (Div. of Faith Technologies Inc.) | Nexamp | U.S. Bank |
Estuary Power | NextEra Energy Resources | UL Solutions |
ExxonMobil | Nextracker | US Department of Agriculture |
Farallon Capital Management | Nissan North America | US Department of Energy |
FlexGen | Nucor | US Light Energy |
Foothill Ventures | NY Green Bank | Vesper Energy |
GameChange Solar | NYSERDA | Vivint |
GCube Insurance Services | OMCO Solar | Wartsila |
GemdaleUSA | Omnes Capital | Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati |
GenPro Energy Solutions | OnePlanet Solar Recycling | Wood Mackenzie |
Gotion | Ojjo, Inc | Yaskawa Solectria Solar |
Benefit from over 50 speakers representing organizations including US Dept of Energy, EDP Renewables North America, RWE Clean Energy, ENGIE North America, Lightsource BP, Clearway Energy Group, Silicon Ranch, Trina Solar and Nextracker as they discuss:
- US solar and storage manufacturing and supply chain:Is the IRA paying off?
- The financing landscape post IRA
- The state of the US solar market and outlook for the US storage sector
- Getting the most out of storage - monetization, dispatch and grid optimization
- Innovation in storage technology - from non-lithium to long-duration storage
- Early-stage development challenges and addressing bottlenecks in the permitting process
- Unlocking the potential of behind the meter resources
- Battery safety: How is the policy and technology landscape evolving?
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300+
Attendees
-
12+
Hours of Content
-
50+
Industry Speakers
-
8+
Hours of Networking
Early Bird tickets are $1495 USD per person. Save $200 off the $1695 standard rate when you book by May 17
Discounted rates for Wood Mackenzie clients / subscribers and group bookings for two or more people from one organization are also available.
Contact Anna Conklin, Customer Manager on events@woodmac.com for more details
A ticket to attend includes:
- Exclusive and inspiring insights from the Wood Mackenzie team of subject matter experts and industry leaders
- Peer to peer connectivity that includes speed networking to match project buyers with sellers and solution providers with potential customers.
- Access to the event app: Find out who you will meet and Manage your time to gain the most from the agenda over the two days
- Refreshments and lunch
- Re-cap on the essential information with speaker presentation downloads (where permission has been given) post-summit
- The summit is taking place at Hilton San Francisco Financial District. View directions
Would your organization like to sponsor the Solar & Energy Storage Summit?
Commercial partnership opportunities include; Thought Leadership, Brand Awareness, Exhibiting, and Hospitality. To discuss further, please contact Kathy Arnold in the sponsorship team on sponsorship@woodmac.com
Official Event/ Association Partners
Highlighted Speakers
This summit not only provides an unrivalled platform to network and do business, but also leverages Wood Mackenzie’s expertise, thought leadership and contacts at the world’s leading solar and energy storage organizations to provide a forum where the industry can assess the needs of the markets and evolve business models for the ever-changing energy landscape.
View more >
Registration
Early Bird tickets are $1495 USD per person. Save $200 off the $1695 standard rate when you book by May 17
Discounted rates for Wood Mackenzie clients / subscribers and group bookings for two or more people from one organization are also available. For more information, contact Anna Conklin, Customer Manager at events@woodmac.com
Agenda
8:00 AM
PT
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Registration, Coffee & Networking
9:00 AM
PT
9:00 AM - 9:10 AM
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Chris Seiple
Vice Chairman, Energy Transition and Power & Renewables
Wood Mackenzie
9:10 AM
PT
9:10 AM - 9:30 AM
Wood Mackenzie address: US solar and storage manufacturing and supply-chain: is the IRA paying off?
Michelle Davis
Head of Global Solar
Wood Mackenzie
Allison Weis
Global Head of Storage
Wood Mackenzie
9:30 AM
PT
9:30 AM - 10:10 AM
Keynote panel: Overcoming global and domestic supply-chain constraints
· Will announced domestic factories be able to deliver at the scale and quality the industry needs?
· Workforce development: making up for the shortfall in domestic knowledge and experience of manufacturing at GW scale.
· Ingots, wafers, polysilicon – how will upstream elements of the supply chain be affected by the IRA?
· How are delays in the supply of transformers limiting the deployment of BESS?
· Bottlenecks caused by raw material shortages due to the fallout from COVID and Chinese tariffs.
· The effect of US countervailing measures and the UFLPA on equipment availability when the domestic supply chain remains nascent.
Kevin Jacobs
Senior Director, Supply Chain Consulting
Wood Mackenzie
Martin Pochtaruk
President
Heliene
Eric Hafter
Founder
Origami Solar
Nick De Vries
Chief Technology Officer
Silicon Ranch
Kelsey Coffman
VP Supply Chain Consulting
Wood Mackenzie
10:10 AM
PT
10:10 AM - 10:30 AM
Keynote fireside chat
Sylvia Leyva-Martinez
Principal Analyst, North America Utility-Scale Solar
Wood Mackenzie
Andre Pujadas
CEO
OnePlanet Solar Recycling
10:30 AM
PT
10:30 AM - 11:10 AM
Coffee & networking
11:10 AM
PT
11:10 AM - 11:25 AM
Wood Mackenzie presentation: The state of the US solar market
Michelle Davis
Head of Global Solar
Wood Mackenzie
11:25 AM
PT
11:25 AM - 11:40 AM
Wood Mackenzie presentation: The outlook for the US storage sector
Allison Weis
Global Head of Storage
Wood Mackenzie
11:40 AM
PT
11:40 AM - 12:20 PM
Keynote panel: The financing landscape post IRA
The IRA has been widely seen as a net positive for the clean energy sector, and there has been an explosion in new project announcements since the passing of the Act. However, questions remain over how many of the announced projects will actually be financed and built. Where is clarity needed on the PTC/ITC benefits to give confidence to investors? How have project financing structures evolved post IRA? How is developer appetite for risk evolving? What are the pros and cons of advancing merchant propositions versus PPAs and offtake agreements?
Chris Seiple
Vice Chairman, Energy Transition and Power & Renewables
Wood Mackenzie
Aaron Ratner
Executive Director
Alternus Energy
Cassidy DeLine
Chief Executive Officer
Linea Energy
Rob Martorano
Chief Investment Officer
Greenskies Clean Focus
Kelsey Clair
Director
NY Green Bank
Robert Gibbons
Strategic Development Manager
Trina Solar
12:20 PM
PT
12:20 PM - 12:40 PM
Keynote fireside chat
12:40 PM
PT
12:40 PM - 2:00 PM
Lunch
2:00 PM
PT
2:00 PM - 2:40 PM
Panel Discussion: Getting the most out of storage – monetization, dispatch and grid optimization
- ·How are storage assets different to solar? The added complexities of balancing charge and dispatch of stored energy
- ·Using data analytics and machine learning for scheduling storage to meet demand, close gaps in performance, and realize the full economic value of battery deployments
- ·Taking a whole system analytics approach to meet grid balancing and flexibility obligations in complex markets
Kendra Williamson
Vice President, Market Operations
Key Capture Energy
Mahdi Motalleb
Director, Energy Storage and Electrical Engineering
SB Energy
Kasim Khan
Senior Research Analyst, Storage
Wood Mackenzie
2:00 PM - 2:40 PM
Panel discussion: Getting creative about site selection and project design
- ·Maximizing the potential of lower grade sites; brownfield, high undulation, retired coal mines, liquefaction, and landfill sites
- ·How can re-powering existing sites provide grid connection benefits
- ·What considerations should developers keep in mind as modules get larger in size? How does this impact project design considerations
- ·Driving efficiencies through automated installation and construction technologies
Sagar Chopra
Senior Research Analyst, Solar
Wood Mackenzie
Sam Mangrum
EVP Project Execution
Leeward Renewable Energy
Paul Curran
Chief Development Officer
CleanCapital
Janhavi Kulkarni
Senior Director, PV Systems Optimization
RWE Clean Energy
2:40 PM
PT
2:40 PM - 3:00 PM
Fireside Chat
2:40 PM - 3:00 PM
Fireside chat
3:00 PM
PT
3:00 PM - 3:40 PM
Coffee & networking
3:40 PM
PT
3:40 PM - 4:00 PM
Wood Mackenzie Address: Storage in energy communities
Vanessa Witte
Senior Research Analyst, Energy Storage
Wood Mackenzie
3:40 PM - 4:00 PM
Fireside chat
4:00 PM
PT
4:00 PM - 4:40 PM
Panel discussion: Solar cell and module innovation
- · How are solar cell and module technologies evolving? Advantages and disadvantages of silicon, perovskite, Perc, TOPCon and HJT.
- · How could alternative cell technologies increase efficiencies in solar generation and improve ROI?
- · Balancing efficiencies and performance versus cost of manufacture.
- · What is the market outlook for new solar cell technologies? What factors need to change to enable a technological shift?
Elissa Pierce
Research Associate, Solar Module Technology and Markets
Wood Mackenzie
Kim Primerano
Vice President, Energy and Infrastructure Development
Estuary Power
Kirstin Alberi
Materials Science Center Director
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
MJ Shiao
VP, Supply Chain and Manufacturing
American Clean Power Association
4:00 PM - 4:40 PM
Panel discussion: Innovation in storage technology - from non-lithium to long-duration storage
· Barriers to securing finance for long-duration storage; revenue and cost uncertainty, long lead-times for project development, and high upfront CAPEX requirements.
· Valuing non-lithium technologies– factoring in the levelized cost of storage.
· Responsive deployment of non-lithium technologies to meet grid challenges and maximize asset performance.
Allison Weis
Global Head of Storage
Wood Mackenzie
Audrey Lee
Senior Director, Energy Strategy, Datacenter Energy
Microsoft
Mike Gravely
Senior Electrical Engineer and Energy Storage Team Lead
California Energy Commission
4:40 PM
PT
4:40 PM - 5:00 PM
Fireside Chat
4:40 PM - 5:00 PM
Wood Mackenzie Address: The state of distributed solar-plus-storage in the US
Max Issokson
Research Analyst, US Distributed Solar
Wood Mackenzie
5:00 PM
PT
5:00 PM - 5:10 PM
Closing Remarks
Allison Weis
Global Head of Storage
Wood Mackenzie
5:00 PM - 5:10 PM
Closing Remarks
Michelle Davis
Head of Global Solar
Wood Mackenzie
5:10 PM
PT
5:10 PM - 6:10 PM
Networking Drinks Reception
8:00 AM
PT
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Coffee and Networking
9:00 AM
PT
9:00 AM - 9:10 AM
Opening Remarks
Chris Seiple
Vice Chairman, Energy Transition and Power & Renewables
Wood Mackenzie
9:10 AM
PT
9:10 AM - 9:30 AM
WM pres: The state of North American solar plus storage and its role in the broader power sector
Sylvia Leyva-Martinez
Principal Analyst, North America Utility-Scale Solar
Wood Mackenzie
9:30 AM
PT
9:30 AM - 10:10 AM
Keynote panel: Addressing interconnection bottlenecks – permitting and grid modernization
The IRA has facilitated a sharp rise in grid connection applications, making transmission and interconnection a major headwind for solar and storage development in the US. Developers are suffering from extended permitting queues and eye-watering connection charges, which can render projects financially unviable. How does the US legal and regulatory structure in the US need to change to enable long-term transmission planning? What grid upgrades are needed to facilitate solar and storage development? What is the solution to rising grid upgrade costs? Is this trend favoring the bigger development players?
Vanessa Witte
Senior Research Analyst, Energy Storage
Wood Mackenzie
Ravi Bantu
Vice President, Grid Integration & Transmission Analytics
SB Energy
Sandeep Arora
Senior Vice President, SVP, Head of Transmission & Markets
REV Renewables
Charlie McClelland
Director, Development and Transmission
Longroad Energy
Eric Beightel
Executive Director
Permitting Council
10:10 AM
PT
10:10 AM - 10:30 AM
Keynote fireside chat
10:30 AM
PT
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Coffee & Speed Networking Session
Bringing renewable projects to completion requires the collaboration of many partners and stakeholders. The speed networking session at this year’s Solar & Energy Storage Summit which will match project buyers with sellers and solution providers with potential customers. Maximize your networking time and fast track your projects by conducting short, targeted meetings with your prospective clients and partners. This fast paced format will allow you to connect with other attendees. Space is limited, contact events@woodmac.com for more information.
11:30 AM
PT
11:30 AM - 12:10 PM
Keynote panel: Early-stage development challenges
· Where do bottlenecks in the permitting process remain? What is the best way of speeding up the development process and clearing the backlog in applications?
· How is supply-chain disruption hampering solar and storage growth? Will domestic production bolstered by the IRA be enough to fill the gaps?
· How can the solar and storage sectors engage with local communities to understand concerns, educate about misconceptions, and minimize negative impact? What are the solutions to the local environmental impact of solar and storage construction projects caused by site grading, air pollution and runoffs?
Vanessa Witte
Senior Research Analyst, Energy Storage
Wood Mackenzie
Becca Jones-Albertus
Director, Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO)
US Department of Energy
Kelly Snyder
Senior Director Origination
EDP Renewables North America
Ian Black
VP of Development
ENGIE North America
Andrew Berke
Administrator, Rural Utilities Service
US Department of Agriculture
12:10 PM
PT
12:10 PM - 12:30 PM
Fireside chat: Empowering communities through solar energy
Sylvia Leyva-Martinez
Principal Analyst, North America Utility-Scale Solar
Wood Mackenzie
Bernie Jordan
Executive Director
Let's Share the Sun
12:30 PM
PT
12:30 PM - 1:10 PM
Panel: Unlocking the potential of behind the meter resources
· How is the role of grids and old-world utilities changing as residential solar and storage proliferates?
· What is driving the shift away from net metering? What alternative incentive programs are being employed and how has this affected uptake of residential solar and storage?
· How are regulatory frameworks adapting to enable the deployment of virtual power plants (VPPs)?
· State incentives and utility-led programs for local energy markets – how do they differ around the country and what can different regions learn from each other?
· How are distributed energy resources (DERs) changing energy distribution models? Asset aggregation at a local scale: ensuring utilities have reliable access to energy.
· Engaging with customers to influence customer behavior and empower consumers to control their energy use. What role does automation and real-time pricing based on time of use play in affecting energy usage?
Hanna Nuttall
U.S. Distributed Storage Research Analyst
Wood Mackenzie
JP Ross
Vice President Local Development, Electrification and Innovation
Ava Community Energy
Leuwam Tesfai
Deputy Executive Director for Energy and Climate Policy
California Public Utilities Commission
Shyam Mehta
Assistant Director DER/Energy Storage
NYSERDA
1:10 PM
PT
1:10 PM - 2:20 PM
Lunch
2:20 PM
PT
2:20 PM - 3:00 PM
Panel discussion: Battery safety: how is the policy and technology landscape evolving?
· Working with AHJs and policy makers: How are battery safety regulations and standards evolving?
· Testing, certification, and permitting for battery storage safety.
· Deploying active battery management technologies to predictively monitor storage assets and prevent safety incidents.
· Safer alternatives to Li-ion – what other technologies are available? Do the fire prevention savings outweigh the upfront costs?
Aaroh Kharaya
Director, Energy Storage Engineering
Primergy Solar
Alkesh Shah
Senior Director, Development Engineering
Leeward Renewable Energy
Jason Burwen
Vice President, Policy and Strategy
Gridstor
Caitlin Smith
Vice President Policy and Corporate Communications
Jupiter Power
Kasim Khan
Senior Research Analyst, Storage
Wood Mackenzie
2:20 PM - 3:00 PM
Panel discussion: Mitigating risk for extreme weather resilience
Climate related events such as hail, high winds, storms, and flooding are becoming increasing challenges as extreme weather becomes more common. Hail is a particular risk to the solar sector in certain geographies such as Texas. These challenges cause warranty issues for manufacturers and increased insurance premiums without preventative measures in place. In high-risk areas strategies should be considered such as predictive storm and weather detection, thicker glass on solar cells, automated stowage, and hail mitigation technologies.
Molly Brown
Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy
GenPro Energy Solutions
Lindsey Guinther
Director, Environmental Affairs
Lightsource bp
Lorena Torres
Director, Enterprise Risk & Insurance
Clearway Energy Group
Kevin Jacobs
Senior Director, Supply Chain Consulting
Wood Mackenzie
Oscar Araujo
General Manager North America, MSS Business Unit
Canadian Solar
Alex Roedel
VP of Design and Engineering
Nextracker
3:00 PM
PT
3:00 PM - 3:20 PM
Fireside Chat
3:00 PM - 3:20 PM
Fireside Chat
3:20 PM
PT
3:20 PM - 3:50 PM
Coffee & networking
3:50 PM
PT
3:50 PM - 4:30 PM
Panel discussion: Infrastructure-as-a-service business models for community solar
· Where is community solar growing and what factors are contributing? Positive local policy areas for community solar.
· Financing models for community solar: access to capital and PPAs with anchor clients.
· Established utilities: friend or foe to IaaS community solar business models?
· Customer service for community solar: how can asset owners provide excellent customer service while reducing the cost of subscriber acquisition and retention?
· What new business models are being explored to serve lower income subscribers?
· Engaging with residential customers and improving “energy literacy”.
Caitlin Connelly
Research Analyst, Distributed Solar
Wood Mackenzie
Erik Molinaro
Senior Vice President, Customer Experience & Operations
Nexamp
Jennifer Schmidt
Senior Program Manager
Illinois Power Agency
Susannah Churchill
Western Policy Director
Solar Landscape
Samantha Meserve
Director of the Renewable and Alternative Energy Division
Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
3:50 PM - 4:30 PM
Panel discussion: Growth drivers for community, commercial and industrial (CCI) scale storage
· To what extent has the IRA provided a boost to the US CCI storage market?
· How does C&I storage reduce peak demand charges? Which other parts of the storage value stack drive C&I storage adoption? Balancing reduced cost of energy with cost considerations – from initial investment to ongoing operating costs.
· What role does CCI storage play in supporting grid reliability and renewable energy adoption?
· What should states and utilities consider when drafting policy to support CCI storage? What has worked and what hasn’t?
· Access to financing: what financing structures are available for CCI storage?
Hanna Nuttall
U.S. Distributed Storage Research Analyst
Wood Mackenzie
Erin Sweet
Senior Director, Energy Storage Development
Clearway Energy Group
David Sandbank
Vice President Distributed Energy Resources & Transportation
NYSERDA
Shaun Laughlin
Vice President Strategic Partnerships
Solaris Energy
4:30 PM
PT
4:30 PM - 4:40 PM
Wood Mackenzie closing address
Vanessa Witte
Senior Research Analyst, Energy Storage
Wood Mackenzie
4:30 PM - 4:40 PM
Wood Mackenzie closing address
Sylvia Leyva-Martinez
Principal Analyst, North America Utility-Scale Solar
Wood Mackenzie
Speakers
Would you like to speak on the Solar & Energy Storage Summit agenda?
Be part of the conversation by sharing your most recent findings and challenges to industry peers. Unveil your thought leadership expertise and distribute your latest white papers to a crowd of targeted individuals. For more information, contact James Pickard, Head of Content on events@woodmac.com
Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors
OnePlanet Solar Recycling
Founded by veterans of the metals manufacturing, recycling, and solar energy industries, OnePlanet Solar Recycling is uniquely suited to provide truly scalable and sustainable recycling solutions for asset owners, installers and developers in the solar industry.
Gold Sponsors
Heliene
Heliene is one of North America's fastest-growing domestic module manufacturers serving the utility-scale, C&I, and residential markets. With an in-house logistics team and remarkably responsive support staff, Heliene delivers competitively priced, high performance solar modules precisely when and where customers need them to accelerate North America's clean energy transition. Founded in 2010, Heliene is recognized as a highly bankable module manufacturer and has production facilities located in Ontario and Minnesota.
Origami Solar
Origami Solar is the developer of a patented steel solar panel frame that will transform the solar industry through high-speed domestic production, dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions and superior strength and durability versus aluminum. By sourcing steel from an established industry ecosystem, solar module manufacturers can eliminate supply chain constraints, accelerate the transition to carbon-free energy, and level the global playing field for module production. Origami Solar was awarded the grand prize in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) American-Made Solar Prize competition in 2022 and PV Magazine’s Manufacturing Innovation of the Year in 2023, recognizing the disruptive value and market potential of a high-performance steel module frame.
Trina Solar
Founded in 1997, Trina Solar has led the PV industry in technological innovation and manufacturing excellence for over 25 years. With more than 170GW of cumulative global shipments, including more than 90GW of 210mm modules, Trina’s PV modules and suite of smart solar solutions deliver clean, affordable, and reliable energy to homes, businesses, and power plants. With a history of innovation and bankability, the company engages in a wide range of PV activities, including R&D, manufacturing, sales, project development, and energy cloud-platform operation. From its North American headquarters in Fremont, California, the company employs a diverse, nationwide team of experts in engineering, technology, sales, finance, marketing, operations, and more, to help US solar developers and EPCs deliver project success. The company is currently developing a 5GW manufacturing base in Wilmer, Texas.
Silver Sponsor
Canadian Solar
Founded in 2001 in Canada, Canadian Solar is a global energy provider with successful business subsidiaries in 20 countries. Canadian Solar is a leading manufacturer of solar PV modules, a provider of solar energy and battery storage solutions, and a developer of utility-scale solar power and battery storage projects. Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar industry, having been publicly listed on NASDAQ (CSIQ) since 2006. The company is one of the world’s largest solar module suppliers and has more than 13,000 employees globally.
Nextracker
Nextracker is a leading provider of intelligent, integrated solar tracker and software solutions used in utility-scale and distributed generation solar projects around the world. Its products enable solar panels to follow the sun’s movement across the sky and optimize plant performance. With plants operating in more than thirty countries worldwide, Nextracker offers solar tracker technologies that increase energy production while reducing costs for significant plant ROI. For more information, visit Nextracker.
The Interchange Podcast Exclusive Sponsor
Convergent Energy and Power
Convergent Energy and Power (Convergent) is a leading provider of energy storage solutions in North America. Convergent has over a decade of experience financing and managing all aspects of the energy storage development cycle to help customers reduce electricity costs and increase reliability. The company’s commercial, industrial, and utility-scale assets can yield seven-figure savings while advancing the clean energy transition. Convergent’s proprietary asset management platform, PEAK IQ® leverages machine learning and deep market knowledge to optimize asset performance and maximize value. Convergent has over $1bn invested in or committed to assets in operation or under development across North America. For more information, visit convergentep.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
Associate Sponsor
Yaskawa Solectria Solar
Yaskawa Solectria Solar is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yaskawa America, Inc. and the largest inverter manufacturer based in the USA, with headquarters in Lawrence, MA, and world-class production facilities in Buffalo Grove, IL and Oak Creek, WI. The Yaskawa Solectria Solar product family features the American-made SOLECTRIA® XGI inverters for 1500V utility-scale systems, a full lineup of string combiners designed for the XGI inverters, 1-2MW factory-integrated Power Racks, and DC-coupled and AC-coupled storage solutions. All of Solectria’s three-phase utility inverters are made in the USA with global components. Meeting the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) definitions of a Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) item, this also qualifies our inverters as domestic end products, compliant with the Buy American Act (BAA) and enables our customers to qualify for the 10% Domestic Content Bonus Credit under the new Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provisions. Leveraging the strengths and resources of Yaskawa America, Inc., Solectria’s experienced engineering and product development team has created the highest quality solar inverter product line that is unmatched in the PV industry. Solectria is backed by Yaskawa, with over 100 years of power electronics and inverter experience and continues to provide new innovations in the marketplace. To learn more please visit www.solectria.com.
Would your organization like to sponsor the Solar & Energy Storage Summit?
As a commercial partner, your organization will be mixing with the industry decision-makers and influencers, seeking investment, partnerships, and the latest business enhancing-technologies.
- Demonstrate thought leadership
The Solar & Energy Storage Summit 2024 is a key channel for high-profit business transactions. Position your brand in front of international delegates and explore new business opportunities.
- Launch your products & showcase innovation
The summit will be a great opportunity to connect with the entire value chain while gaining exclusive insights from our team of subject matter experts and leaders in the industry.
- Host one of our networking functions
Connect your company with the industry's most important stakeholders, enabling you to forge new partnerships and demonstrate your business strength, innovation, and expertise.
- Online presence
Wood Mackenzie event sponsorships provide a comprehensive digital marketing strategy to reach a wider audience beyond the physical event. Your company will receive dedicated exposure on our event website, social media platforms, email marketing campaigns, ensuring maximum visibility and engagement among our online community.
To discuss all opportunities in more detail, please contact Kathy Arnold in the sponsorship team on sponsorship@woodmac.com
Venue Details
Hilton San Francisco Financial District
750 Kearny Street, San Francisco, CA 94108, USA
To book accommodation at the Hilton San Francisco Financial District, please click here.
With views of Alcatraz and the San Francisco Bay, we’re less than a mile from the Ferry Building, Union Square, and Coit Tower. City Lights bookstore of North Beach is just three blocks away. Our technology lounge, The Cloud, features floor-to-ceiling TVs and comfy chairs, and you'll love our iconic views from our Bay View rooms.
Alternative Hotel Accomodations:
- Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco at Embarcadero
- Omni San Francisco
- The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco
- Fairmont San Francisco
- The Jay, Autograph Collection (Marriott)
- Intercontinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco
- Stanford Court San Francisco
- Executive Hotel Vintage Court San Francisco
- Vintage Court Hotel
- Club Quarters Hotel Embarcadero
Why attend the Solar & Energy Storage Summit 2024?
Networking opportunities: Bringing renewable projects to completion requires the collaboration of many partners and stakeholders. The speed networking session at this year’s Solar & Energy Storage Summit which will match project buyers with sellers and solution providers with potential customers. Maximize your networking time and fast track your projects by conducting short, targeted meetings with your prospective clients and partners. This fast paced format will allow you to connect with other attendees.
Insight into project developments: Gain valuable insights into the latest solar and storage project developments including updates on ongoing initiatives, and breakthrough technologies, for a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape and potential future opportunities.
Partnership opportunities: The summit provides a platform to forge new partnerships within the North American solar and storage industry. By interacting with industry leaders, you can identify potential collaboration opportunities and form strategic alliances.
Candid conversations: Engage in candid conversations with our thought leaders on research that has not yet been reported. By participating in panel discussions and interactive sessions, you can gain insights into the challenges, opportunities, and real-world experiences of industry experts, enabling you to broaden your knowledge and perspective.
Stay updated on critical trends and technologies: The North American solar and storage industry is constantly evolving, with new trends, technologies, and challenges emerging regularly. Stay up to date with the latest developments in solar and storage. You can learn about cutting-edge technologies, innovative strategies, and regulatory updates, enabling you to make informed decisions and stay ahead of the curve.
2024 Attendees Include:
ABB, Ageto Energy, OnePlanet Solar Recycling, Algonquin Power, Broad Reach Power, Clearway Energy Group, Cosmos Energy, Heliene, Canadian Solar, California Public Utilities Commission, NYSERDA, Nissan North America, Rocky Mountain Institute, American Clean Power Association, RWE Clean Energy, Silicon Ranch, US Department of Energy, Soltage, New York Independent System Operator, US Light Energy, Vivint, Origami Solar, SB Energy, Leeward Renewable Energy, NY Green Bank, Spearmint Energy, Orange and Rockland Utilities, and more...
Highlights from Solar & Energy Storage Summit 2023
Early Bird tickets are $1495 USD per person. Save $200 off the $1695 standard rate when you book by May 17
Discounted rates for Wood Mackenzie clients / subscribers and group bookings for two or more people from one organization are also available. For more information, contact Anna Conklin, Customer Manager at events@woodmac.com
Rob Martorano
Chief Investment Officer
Greenskies Clean Focus
Sam Mangrum
EVP Project Execution
Leeward Renewable Energy
Sam Mangrum, Executive Vice President of Project Execution at Leeward Renewable Energy (LRE), is a seasoned leader with a rich background in the construction industry. With over 27 years of experience, he has demonstrated expertise in International Project Management, Negotiation, Procurement, Budgeting, Value Engineering, and Operations Management. Sam's extensive leadership spans diverse construction projects, including commercial, heavy civil, environmental remediation. wind, solar, and battery storage. His role at LRE involves overseeing development engineering, procurement and all aspects of active construction projects; ensuring the successful transition of projects to asset management and providing support to various departments within LRE to foster the growth of the development pipeline. Prior to joining LRE, Sam held various positions, progressing from project field roles to the Director of Operations for multiple construction firms specializing in Renewable Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) projects with a focus on self-perform services. His direct management encompassed around 4.5 GW of wind EPC construction and 2.4 GW of solar EPC construction across 36 countries. Additionally, he managed approximately $750 billion in environmental remediation projects in the U.S., Caribbean, and South Africa. Sam holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Louisiana Tech University.
Bernie Jordan
Executive Director
Let's Share the Sun
Alkesh Shah
Senior Director, Development Engineering
Leeward Renewable Energy
Ian Black
VP of Development
ENGIE North America
Ian has over 15 years experience in utility-scale renewables. Prior to leading development for ENGIE North America, Ian was a leader in renewable energy procurement and innovation at Amazon Web Services, and prior to that in wind, solar and energy storage development at EDFR. In his career, Ian has permitted, contracted and built over 6GW of utility-scale projects, including 1.5GW of long-duration BESS. Ian is from Colorado, is an avid snowboarder, surfer and a part-time triathlete. Ian has a wife and three wonderful kids who keep him humble and remind him every day why his work is relevant. Ian holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado, and an MBA and MSc from the University of Michigan.
Jason Burwen
Vice President, Policy and Strategy
Gridstor
Jason was previously Vice President of Energy Storage at the American Clean Power Association (ACP), as well as interim CEO and Vice President of Policy at the U.S. Energy Storage Association (ESA), where he built and directed the energy storage industry’s comprehensive federal, state, and regional market policy advocacy strategy from 2015 to 2023. His advocacy directly shaped the energy storage federal investment tax credit in the Inflation Reduction Act; the directives of FERC Order 841; several state deployment targets; capacity accreditation reforms in PJM; and other laws and regulations pertaining to energy storage. He has been cited as an expert on energy storage technology, policy, and markets in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, NPR, the New Yorker, and numerous trade publications. Earlier in his career Jason directed research and advocacy on U.S. energy innovation and tax policy as the Associate Director for Energy Innovation at the Bipartisan Policy Center; consulted to utilities on demand response program design at FSC Group/Nexant; and reviewed utility renewable energy contracting processes for the California Public Utilities Commission. Jason holds MA’s from the University of California – Berkeley’s Energy and Resource Group and Goldman School of Public Policy, as well as a BA from Columbia University.
Caitlin Smith
Vice President Policy and Corporate Communications
Jupiter Power
Eric Beightel
Executive Director
Permitting Council
Biden-Harris Administration Presidential appointee Eric Beightel serves as the Executive Director of the Permitting Council. As Executive Director, Beightel assists Permitting Council member agencies in managing a portfolio of nearly $100 billion in large-scale infrastructure projects— including those in the renewable energy, coastal restoration, broadband, and electricity transmission sectors. Executive Director Beightel assists federal agencies in developing and implementing comprehensive, project-specific timetables for all required infrastructure permitting reviews and authorizations for FAST-41 covered projects, advancing the administration's goal to build innovative and transformative once-in-a-generation infrastructure. A nationally recognized expert in the environmental and infrastructure fields, Beightel brings more than 20 years of experience to the Permitting Council, including significant time spent in federal service. Beightel’s extensive public and private sector experience honed his command of the National Environmental Policy Act and his capacity for solving complex environmental permitting problems on the local, state and national level. His experience includes serving as a senior environmental policy advisor at the Department of Transportation, developing and implementing strategies to reduce permitting and review timelines while delivering better outcomes for communities and the environment. He also worked as a policy advisor at the Office of Management and Budget, serving as a subject matter expert on the federal permitting and review process for major infrastructure projects. In the private sector Beightel worked for WSP, USA as a senior director and vice president, working with clients to develop innovative strategies to navigate the federal environmental regulatory framework efficiently. Most recently he served as an associate vice president and national lead for infrastructure policy and environmental strategy at HDR, Inc., a global engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services firm.
Samantha Meserve
Director of the Renewable and Alternative Energy Division
Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
Samantha Meserve is the Director of the Renewable and Alternative Energy Division for the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. She first began her career at the Department administering the Solar Carve-Out II portion of the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard before transitioning to managing the development and implementation of renewable thermal technologies in the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard. She has since broadened her experience to include a variety of policy development initiatives for renewable energy and building decarbonization. She began her career at the Department after graduating with her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Resources Engineering from the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry and has also earned her master’s in business administration from the University of Massachusetts at Boston.
Sagar Chopra
Senior Research Analyst, Solar
Wood Mackenzie
Sagar is a senior research analyst on our Power & Renewables team, focused on PV system pricing for US and LATAM regions. He also supports research on global system pricing, and covers floating solar market research. Prior to joining Wood Mackenzie in 2021, Sagar worked as an electrical engineer, designing and commissioning utility-scale PV projects in the New England and New York region.
Audrey Lee
Senior Director, Energy Strategy, Datacenter Energy
Microsoft
Oscar Araujo
General Manager North America, MSS Business Unit
Canadian Solar
Oscar is the General Manager at North America Canadian Solar. He is responsible for the module and system components business in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Central America, overseeing the utility-scale, C&I, and residential market segments, including the EP Cube residential energy storage product line. Under Oscar’s leadership, Canadian Solar has successfully positioned itself as one of the leading module OEMs in the US market. Oscar has more than 16+ years of experience in the solar energy, energy storage, EV charging infrastructure, and electrical manufacturing industries. Before Canadian Solar, Oscar worked for industry leaders, including Shell-Greenlots, Convergent Energy and Power, and Schneider Electric. He has extensive knowledge of the US, Canadian, and Latin American markets, where he has led large deployments of hundreds of DC fast EV charging stations, award-winning utility-scale energy storage systems, and solar projects accounting for more than 9 GWs. Oscar is an Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduate from Los Andes University in Bogota, Colombia. He holds an MBA from the University of Toronto, Canada, and a Global Executive MBA from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Oscar is passionate about accelerating the adoption of electric transportation, integrating energy storage and renewable energy with the grid, and addressing the impact of the green economy on living standards in developed and emerging economies. He is also a frequent speaker at conferences, tradeshows, and other international industry events.
Shyam Mehta
Assistant Director DER/Energy Storage
NYSERDA
Kirstin Alberi
Materials Science Center Director
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Dr. Alberi received a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2003 and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2008, where she studied the optical and electronic properties of highly mismatched semiconductor alloys. She was initially hired by NREL as a postdoctoral researcher in the Silicon Materials and Devices group to investigate the design and performance of thin crystalline Si solar cells fabricated on inexpensive substrates. In 2010, she joined the Materials Physics group to conduct basic research on the growth and characterization of electronic materials, including phosphide-based light-emitting diodes and novel materials for photovoltaics. In addition to her role as Director of NREL’s Materials Science Center, she currently leads a research program on the epitaxy and investigation of 3D topological semimetal thin films and is a contributor to the tandems photovoltaic research program.
Vanessa Witte
Senior Research Analyst, Energy Storage
Wood Mackenzie
Vanessa is a senior analyst with our Energy Transition Practice, covering the US energy storage market with a particular focus on front-of-the-meter battery storage. Before joining Wood Mackenzie in 2021, Vanessa was a battery storage analyst specialising in downstream revenue analytics and long-term price forecasting. Earlier in her career she was an analyst in North American natural gas infrastructure and power markets at Genscape, now a Wood Mackenzie company. Vanessa is a committee member and mentor with She’s in Power; a Colorado C3E programme designed to grow and inspire women to be clean energy leaders.
JP Ross
Vice President Local Development, Electrification and Innovation
Ava Community Energy
Caitlin Connelly
Research Analyst, Distributed Solar
Wood Mackenzie
Caitlin Connelly is a research associate at Wood Mackenzie Power and Renewables. She focuses on distributed solar and supports research and data collection for the US Distributed Solar and Grid Edge practices. Earlier in her career at Wood Mackenzie, Caitlin researched mini-grids in emerging markets, commercial and industrial (C&I) solar in Africa and the Middle East and the financial performance of publicly-traded wind development companies.
Nick De Vries
Chief Technology Officer
Silicon Ranch
A veteran of both the US Army and the renewable energy sector with nearly a quarter of a century of experience bringing the solar industry to scale, and making PV plants more capable. As CTO, Nick is responsible for all aspects of the company’s operating assets, as well as the technological and ecological vison of the company. Silicon Ranch owns--and Nick now operates--projects that he himself designed over a decade ago, including the first transmission interconnected PV plant in the Southeast. In that same vein, Nick leads a team responsible for reimagining the relationship between agriculture and energy land use. Regenerative Energy® co-locates nature-based land management solutions and solar power plants. Nick holds 3 patents in both PV module manufacturing and design, and a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University. He serves as an industry advisor, and reviewer for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s DuraMAT consortium. As well as the Primary Investigator for a Department of Energy funded program exploring the appropriate co-location of solar projects with regenerative cattle ranching.
Lorena Torres
Director, Enterprise Risk & Insurance
Clearway Energy Group
Allison Weis
Global Head of Storage
Wood Mackenzie
Allison leads our global research into energy storage. She joined Wood Mackenzie in 2023 from Ascend Analytics, where she was VP of Battery Solutions. In that role she built out a storage valuation product and consulting practice as well as operational platform optimising storage, hybrid and renewable bids into day-ahead and real-time power markets. Earlier in her career, Allison was an engineer at Tesla, focused on modelling stationary energy storage for large-scale renewables integration and analysis of revenue and battery degradation in different wholesale power markets.
Susannah Churchill
Western Policy Director
Solar Landscape
Susannah Churchill is Western Policy Director for Solar Landscape, the leading commercial and industrial rooftop solar developer in the U.S. with experience in both community solar and behind-the-meter solar projects. In prior roles, Susannah directed Western states policy for Vote Solar, and served as staff and Commissioner Advisor at the California Public Utilities Commission and the California Energy Commission.
Chris Seiple
Vice Chairman, Energy Transition and Power & Renewables
Wood Mackenzie
Chris is the Vice Chairman of Wood Mackenzie’s Power & Renewables group. He is responsible for ensuring thought leadership, advising on the strategic direction of the business, and senior stakeholder engagement and relationship management. Chris brings 30 years of global power industry experience to this role. His career has spanned strategy consulting work for power companies and banks at Cambridge Energy Research Associates (now part of IHS/S&P), debt and equity financing of power-related investments at GE Energy Financial Service and managing a portfolio of power plants owned by EFS. He also led the power organisation at Genscape, where he expanded its real-time power markets monitoring business into analytics and software service businesses through both organic growth and acquisitions. Chris came to Wood Mackenzie through its acquisition of Genscape and now works with our 250 researchers across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Education Chris is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Muhlenberg College, with degrees in Russian Studies and Political Science. He also has a MS in Energy Management and Policy from the University of Pennsylvania and the Institut Francais du Petrole (IFP).
Erik Molinaro
Senior Vice President, Customer Experience & Operations
Nexamp
Erik oversees Nexamp’s customer experience teams, along with our Revenue and Billing operations groups. In this role, he leads the team responsible for all incoming contacts from commercial and residential customers across the entirety of Nexamp’s rapidly growing community solar portfolio. In addition, the group is responsible for Nexamp’s end-to-end billing operations, and working with our utility partners to ensure we’re delivering an industry-leading customer experience. Prior to joining Nexamp, Erik spent two decades at Liberty Mutual Insurance, holding various positions in customer experience strategy, product development, process improvement and operations. Most recently he was Senior Executive Manager of U.S. Sales Support & Offshore Vendor Quality. Erik holds both an MBA and M.S. in management information systems from Boston University and a B.A. in political science along with a B.A. in environmental science from Marist College. He also serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for a local non-profit that provides access to after school care for young children.
Mike Gravely
Senior Electrical Engineer and Energy Storage Team Lead
California Energy Commission
Kim Primerano
Vice President, Energy and Infrastructure Development
Estuary Power
Kim has 20 years of renewable energy management and related experience focused on asset management, construction, operations, maintenance, safety, and quality assurance. Prior to Estuary, Kim was Director of Operations and Maintenance at Longroad Energy with responsibility for 500 solar projects. Previously, Kim was a Communications Officer in the United States Marine Corps, where she led teams of up to 150 Marines in combat. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Leadership from Mary Baldwin University.
Martin Pochtaruk
President
Heliene
Martin Pochtaruk has 35 years of experience managing manufacturing and innovation businesses across Europe and the Americas. He founded Heliene, a technology leading high quality solar PV manufacturer in 2010, the company is challenging the solar industry status quo by putting customers first. It’s doing so as well by manufacturing high quality, competitively priced solar PV modules made to order in North America. By supporting customers with its in-house logistics team and just in time supply chain solutions. And by being remarkably responsive. Prior to founding Heliene in February 2010, he was the VP of Business development at Algoma Steel Inc., a Canadian Public Company, where he was responsible for driving the company’s value-chain integration strategy, creating and increasing value to shareholders (Dec 2004 to June 2009). Before Algoma Steel, Pochtaruk spent over fifteen years at Tenaris (NYSE: TS) in Argentina, Italy, the USA and Canada, on positions ranging from applied research (1990), product development for stringent applications (1991-1994), marketing (1995-1996), M&A (1997-1999) and supply chain management (2000 to November 2004). Relevant experience to project execution: • 1996 to 1998 – Take over and turn around of Dalmine, Italy (Tenaris) • 2000 – start up of the idled Sault Ste Marie pipe factory for Tenaris, • 2010 – start up of Heliene in Sault Ste Marie, • 2018 – replacement of the Mountain Iron, Minnesota manufacturing facility for Heliene. • 2022 – investment and start up of Mountain Iron line 2 for Heliene, • 2023 – raised USD$ 170 million to accelerate the growth of Heliene. In 1989 Martin graduated in Physics from University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Martin is fluent in Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and English.
Andrew Berke
Administrator, Rural Utilities Service
US Department of Agriculture
Shaun Laughlin
Vice President Strategic Partnerships
Solaris Energy
Charlie McClelland
Director, Development and Transmission
Longroad Energy
Ravi Bantu
Vice President, Grid Integration & Transmission Analytics
SB Energy
Kendra Williamson
Vice President, Market Operations
Key Capture Energy
Kendra Williamson is the Vice President of Market Operations at Key Capture Energy. In this role, she is responsible for KCE’s daily project participation in wholesale power markets as well as nodal and transmission analytics that inform siting and prospecting. She leads development of KCE’s autonomous energy storage bidding and reporting platform, MarketCapture. Kendra and the Market Operations team work with the development, construction, operations, and regulatory teams to ensure projects in early phases are sited appropriately and those in later phases enter and participate in the power markets effectively. Prior to joining KCE, Kendra led the Performance Analysis team at EDP Renewables, where she and her team developed KPIs, built automated monitoring systems, and performed ad hoc data analyses to support improved performance of a 14 GW operational wind and solar power plant fleet. During her career in clean energy, she has been heavily involved in the Houston chapter of Women of Renewable Energies and Sustainable Energies (WRISE), serving various roles in the organization between 2017 and 2020 and co-leading the chapter from 2020 to 2023. Kendra is a graduate of Vanderbilt University with a B.S. in Economics and Engineering Science and holds a Master of Science degree in Natural Resource Economics from Texas A&M University. She lives in Houston, TX with her husband and cat and enjoys nature and the outdoors.
Robert Gibbons
Strategic Development Manager
Trina Solar
Michelle Davis
Head of Global Solar
Wood Mackenzie
Michelle is the head of Global Solar at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. She leads our solar research practice, setting the research agenda, identifying emerging industry themes and cultivating a team of solar thought leaders. She is also the lead author of the quarterly publication of the US Solar Market Insight report, produced in collaboration with SEIA (the Solar Energy Industries Association). Prior to joining Wood Mackenzie, Michelle held various research positions focused on renewable energy, covering topics ranging from the energy-water nexus to utility investments in electric vehicle charging stations. She is a prominent thought leader in the solar industry and has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg, NPR and Forbes, among others. Michelle is the co-chapter leader for WRISE Arizona, a networking organisation dedicated to empowering women in renewable energy.
Kevin Jacobs
Senior Director, Supply Chain Consulting
Wood Mackenzie
Sylvia Leyva-Martinez
Principal Analyst, North America Utility-Scale Solar
Wood Mackenzie
As a principal analyst on our Power and Renewables team, Sylvia researches market dynamics, business models, market developments and financial strategies of utility-scale solar PV projects in the US and Canada. Previously a senior consultant for the Power and Renewables team, she brings six years of experience in power markets, the energy transition, renewables and ESG. Before Wood Mackenzie, Sylvia worked for Accenture Strategy Energy, where she supported cost and portfolio optimisation and talent management for NOCs in Latin America. She also worked in solar project development for SPIE Sud-Est in France.
Kelsey Clair
Director
NY Green Bank
Kelsey Clair is a Director and Lead Transactor on NY Green Bank’s Investment and Portfolio Management team, where she sources, structures, and executes on clean energy investments across New York State. Ms. Clair is focused on bridging the financing gap for projects that will decarbonize our economy, namely in energy storage, clean transportation, and building efficiency. Prior to joining NY Green Bank, Ms. Clair worked as a Lead Transactor and Portfolio Manager at MUFG Bank, where she managed a billion-dollar portfolio of investments in commodity trading platforms and midstream energy companies. Her career has been focused on providing financing solutions to corporates and projects within the energy sector. Prior to MUFG, Ms. Clair worked for JPMorgan Chase investing in middle market companies across all industries. Ms. Clair received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Fordham University and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University. She is also an Executive Committee Member for CAIA NY where she leads educational programs in alternative investments.
Kasim Khan
Senior Research Analyst, Storage
Wood Mackenzie
Cassidy DeLine
Chief Executive Officer
Linea Energy
Cassidy oversees the seasoned leaders across our development, procurement, financing and power market teams. With nearly 15 years of experience working in renewable energy, Cassidy’s teams have commercialized over 9 GW of solar across, including multiple industry-setting financing and offtake structures. Prior to Linea Energy, Cassidy was Chief Commercial Officer at Cypress Creek where she led project finance, late stage project development and strategic initiatives. At Recurrent Energy, she led the M&A team and contributed to key project financings. She also worked as a research associate in the energy space at Cambridge Energy Research Associates (now owned by S&P). She has led or significantly contributed to several marquee deals in the renewable space including the first non-recourse financing of a project with a non-rated CCA offtake, the first bond financing of solar in Canada, the first tax equity investments of several major corporate investors, including Walmart, and others. Cassidy holds a B.S. in International Relations from Stanford University.
Leuwam Tesfai
Deputy Executive Director for Energy and Climate Policy
California Public Utilities Commission
Leuwam Tesfai was named the CPUC’s Deputy Executive Director for Energy and Climate Policy, effective July 1, 2022. She previously served as Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma’s Chief of Staff and Legal Advisor, a position she held since 2019 when appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom. She has worked at the CPUC since 2011 in several roles including as an Advisor to former Commissioner Liane M. Randolph and in the CPUC’s Legal, Energy and Administrative Law Judge Divisions. Leuwam’s private sector experience includes renewable energy markets, siting and permitting generation facilities, and commercialization of clean energy technologies. She is a graduate of Emory University and the University of San Francisco School of Law. The Energy Division provides technical support to the Commissioners and their offices, and the Administrative Law Judges. The Energy Division drafts resolutions for formal consideration by the Commission. Resolutions generally result from informal utility requests called Advice Letters, which are submitted by utilities to request rate and tariff adjustments. The Energy Division through its Federal Policy and Ratemaking Section represents the Commission in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and court proceedings. The Energy Division assists the Commission in its regulation of four types of Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs): Electric, Natural Gas, Steam and Petroleum Pipeline Companies. Commission-approved tariffs (official rates and terms of service) for these four types of IOUs are maintained by the Energy Division.
Andre Pujadas
CEO
OnePlanet Solar Recycling
As a senior executive and engineer by training, Andre maintains a strong record of delivering results of consequence to the P&L of the largest metals manufacturers in the world such as Nucor, Severstal and PSC Metals, among others. Andre has globally led plant startup, operations, and management for major industrial production facilities ranging from direct reduced iron, hot briquetted iron, and iron carbide, to ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal shredders and advanced recovery plants. Andre possesses world-class leadership and management acumen from his 30+ years of experience in the primary and secondary metals markets and holds a MBA from Duke University, Fuqua School of Business.
Mahdi Motalleb
Director, Energy Storage and Electrical Engineering
SB Energy
Lindsey Guinther
Director, Environmental Affairs
Lightsource bp
Lindsey is the Director of Environmental Affairs at Lightsource bp, a global market leader in the development, financing, construction, and management of large-scale solar projects. With more than 15 years of experience in the renewable energy sector, her expert knowledge of project siting, spatial modeling, and climate and disaster resilience and have helped advance gigawatts of executed projects. In her role as Director of Environmental Affairs, Lindsey leads Lightsource bp’s global climate and disaster resiliency initiative and works to integrate mitigation strategies for serve weather events into all aspects of project development, construction, and operations. Rooted with initial work focused in U.S. markets, Lindsey has built a leading, global climate and disaster resiliency program at Lightsource bp. This program is essential to building a resilient portfolio that supports the company’s global objectives of installing 25 GW of operating projects by 2025. Lindsey additionally has subject matter expertise in the areas of Equator Principals, ESG reporting, climate change modeling, agrivoltaics and IRA Energy Communities.
Aaron Ratner
Executive Director
Alternus Energy
Aaron is an Executive Director with Alternus Clean Energy (Nasdaq: ALCE), a transatlantic clean energy independent power producer (IPP). Previously he was the CEO of Clean Earth Acquisitions Corp., a renewable energy-focused acquisition company that merged with Alternus. He is a Co-Founder and the Chairman of CC Insurance Solutions, a climate insurance intermediary platform focused on the energy transition. Aaron is also a Co-Founder and of Vectr Carbon Partners, an early-stage global ClimateTech venture capital fund based in Hong Kong. Aaron has over 20 years of domestic and international investment and advisory experience, including 8 years in Asia, focusing on venture capital, climate technology, infrastructure investing, energy, and agriculture.
Kelsey Coffman
VP Supply Chain Consulting
Wood Mackenzie
Erin Sweet
Senior Director, Energy Storage Development
Clearway Energy Group
Erin has more than 10 years of experience navigating renewable energy policies and technology to bring its benefits to customers, landowners, and utilities. As the Senior Director of Energy Storage Development, Erin is responsible for growing Clearway’s storage capabilities and project pipeline across the country. Prior to joining Clearway, Erin built a consulting practice to help cities and towns deploy distributed solar projects on municipal land. Erin holds a BS in Microbiology from the University of Florida and a MA in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University.
Kelly Snyder
Senior Director Origination
EDP Renewables North America
At EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA), Kelly leads the Origination team. She has more than 17 years of experience in the renewable industry and is responsible for leading the Origination team that develops and maintains key relationships with utilities and offtake partners, including commercial and industrial clients. The Origination team oversees PPA negotiations, develops pricing strategies for renewable projects under development, and analyzes the impact of current and potential renewable market rules. Kelly’s team also examines market trends and identifies new customers within the renewable industry. Her depth of market knowledge spans into the U.S. markets and Canada, and under her leadership, her team has executed over 8 GW of PPAs at EDPR North America. Kelly is the Co-Founder of the Women IN Energy Conference, which hosted the first annual event in 2017, bringing more than 250 women in energy together for an impact session of . In addition, Kelly is on the Board of Directors for the Clean Energy Buyers Alliance (CEBA) and the Tucson Museum of Art. In 2019, the Women in Renewable Energy awarded Kelly with the Wind Power Woman of Distinction for her leadership in the industry. Kelly was also named one of the 10 Most Admired Women Leaders of 2021 by Women Industry Era Leaders. Before joining EPDR NA, Kelly held numerous energy trading roles specializing in renewables and origination at ACES, Great River Energy, and Split Rock Energy.
Max Issokson
Research Analyst, US Distributed Solar
Wood Mackenzie
Eric Hafter
Founder
Origami Solar
Eric is a solar industry pioneer and leader focused on creative solutions, driving excellence and innovation. Eric has held leadership positions in solar energy for over three decades in manufacturing, project development, and EPC. He founded Enable Energy (now BayWa r.e. Power Solutions), ran Sharp Solar for the Americas, developed the first large project in Jordan, and was board member and senior executive at PowerLight (now SunPower). Eric has been very active in product and solar mounting solutions, developing rail-free residential racking systems and flat roof mounts, which are sold internationally. Eric developed the concept for a roll-formed steel module frame solution in 2019, formed Origami Solar in 2020 and built a world-class team of solar, technology and IP executives to advance design, engineering, testing and commercialization of a breakthrough solution that will deliver significant cost savings, substantial greenhouse gas avoidance, and installation and O+M benefits.
David Sandbank
Vice President Distributed Energy Resources & Transportation
NYSERDA
Sandeep Arora
Senior Vice President, SVP, Head of Transmission & Markets
REV Renewables
Sandeep Arora serves as Senior Vice President & Head of Transmission & Markets. Prior to joining REV Renewables, Mr. Arora spent over 11 years at LS Power, REV’s parent company, leading the Interconnection, Market and Regulatory activities for company’s Renewables, Storage & Transmission development business in the Western U.S. This led to the successful development of several large-scale solar, battery storage and transmission projects that are currently in operation. Previously, Mr. Arora worked for over 8 years at California ISO (CAISO) in Transmission Planning, Operations Engineering and Market Development areas. Prior to joining CAISO, Mr. Arora served in engineering roles at General Electric and Reliance Industries. Mr. Arora holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Institute of Engineering & Technology and Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering (Power Systems) from Arizona State University.
Jennifer Schmidt
Senior Program Manager
Illinois Power Agency
Jennifer Schmidt is the Illinois Solar for All Senior Program Manager at the Illinois Power Agency (IPA), an independent state agency tasked with developing procurement plans and conducting energy, capacity, and renewables procurement events and administering the state’s solar energy incentive programs. Jennifer joined the IPA in 2018. In this role, she leads implementation of the Illinois Solar for All Program (ILSFA) within the IPA. In addition, she is the liaison between the IPA and the ILSFA Program Administrator and serves as a subject matter expert on program guidelines and requirements. Prior to joining the IPA, Jennifer spent thirteen years working for the community action agency that serves Chicago and suburban Cook County, focusing on income-eligible energy assistance. In her various roles, she assisted in the state-level planning and supervised local implementation of the Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP) benefit option of LIHEAP in Illinois, as well as several utility-funded programs that helped households in Chicago and Cook County with their electric and gas bills. Jennifer has brought her passion for reducing energy burdens of income-eligible households into the efforts to ensure the benefits of Illinois’ growing solar market are reaching all its residents.
Elissa Pierce
Research Associate, Solar Module Technology and Markets
Wood Mackenzie
Elissa is a research associate in Wood Mackenzie’s Power & Renewables practice. Her research coverage includes solar module markets, technologies and supply chains across the globe. Before joining Wood Mackenzie, Elissa was a solar design engineer and worked on rooftop and ground-mount residential solar PV and battery storage projects.
Aaroh Kharaya
Director, Energy Storage Engineering
Primergy Solar
Hanna Nuttall
U.S. Distributed Storage Research Analyst
Wood Mackenzie
Paul Curran
Chief Development Officer
CleanCapital
Janhavi Kulkarni
Senior Director, PV Systems Optimization
RWE Clean Energy
Janhavi Kulkarni is the Senior Director of PV Optimization at RWE Clean Energy. Over the last 12 years in the clean energy industry, she has worked on various utility scale solar and storage projects. During her 4 years at RWE, she has built and led teams to execute projects and drive growth for the company.
MJ Shiao
VP, Supply Chain and Manufacturing
American Clean Power Association
Molly Brown
Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy
GenPro Energy Solutions
Molly Brown is the EVP of Corporate Strategy for GenPro Energy Solutions based out of Piedmont, SD where she helps steer the company’s overall vision and strategy while overseeing distributed generation project development. Her background in quantitative economics has allowed her to see and create market opportunities in underdeveloped regions. After being promoted to VP of Energy Production in the Fall of 2016, GenPro has shot up Solar Power World’s Top Solar Contractors list and has a sterling reputation for best-in-class installations. In Nebraska and South Dakota, Molly has been involved in many firsts. She developed and project managed the first municipal utility solar farm for the City of Lexington which was at the time the largest system (AC) in the State of Nebraska. She also oversaw the construction of the two pilot projects for Nebraska Public Power District’s SunWise Community Solar Program, a program which has since expanded and includes the 4.6MW AC system in Scottsbluff, NE that was placed online in 2020 and the first solar + storage project in Norfolk, NE that was energized in August of 2022. In South Dakota, she developed a 1090kW roof-top portfolio with Black Hills State University which with the combination of hydroelectric power from WAPA has allowed them meet their goal to be powered by 100% renewable energy. Molly’s team works actively with end-users to provide custom behind-the-meter solar + storage solutions for Municipal & C&I customers ranging from manufacturing facilities to community solar gardens and utility-scale projects.
Becca Jones-Albertus
Director, Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO)
US Department of Energy
Dr. Becca Jones-Albertus is the Director of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Energy in the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. SETO has an annual budget of over $300 million to advance solar technology and support an equitable transition to a decarbonized energy system. This includes innovative research on photovoltaic and concentrating solar-thermal power technologies, grid integration, and analysis and technical assistance to reduce soft costs and increase access to affordable solar energy. Dr. Jones-Albertus also works with DOE leadership and interagency partners on key issues such as supply chains, grid modernization, and workforce training. Dr. Jones-Albertus has spent her career advancing solar technology and working to reduce regulatory barriers to solar deployment. Prior to joining the Energy Department, Dr. Jones-Albertus worked in the private sector, where she led efforts to develop solar cells that twice achieved world-record efficiencies. Dr. Jones-Albertus graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University and holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. She has more than 10 patents and 40 technical publications.
Alex Roedel
VP of Design and Engineering
Nextracker
Alex Roedel is the VP of Design and Engineering at Nextracker. With over 16 years in the solar industry and leading design and engineering for Fortune 1000 companies such as SunPower and SPG Solar, Alex is responsible for the design and engineering of over 90 GWs of installed solar projects. He leads a global team of engineers and is the company’s customer-facing technical lead with developers and EPCs worldwide. He has also written multiple publications, spoken at major conferences, and is a well-known industry expert. Alex earned his BS in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara.