2008 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for solar power for a number of reasons: skyrocketing energy costs, more efficient and affordable PV panels, the issue of renewable energy being championed by all three presidential candidates and rising public consciousness.
The PV Summit will be a key event in this pivotal year. Over the past three years, PV Summit has become one of the premiere industry events; with discussions of by key executives about recent discoveries and developments like crystalline silicon, thin film and future generation PV tech.
John Doerr’s recent comment at the Berkeley Energy Symposium that “it’s almost criminal that [the U.S. is] not investing more in energy R&D” made many in the policy and utility crowd sit up and take notice. John won’t be attending the PV summit, but all eyes will be on the venture capitalists to see if their recent spat of clean energy investments will continue against the indifference of the current administration.
Tim Woodward, Managing Director of Nth Capital will be discussing the venture capital perspective on solar opportunities. Tim knows his way around the energy-based venture capital, so his remarks should be one of the most insightful looks to the future of PV.
Some of the other highlights I’m looking forward to include:
- A pre-conference workshop where Paula Mints, a senior analyst at Navigant Consulting, will outline the lifecycle of PV panel production, from raw material to the end user.
- Dr Jean Posbic’s (of BP Solar US) opening remarks, which may include a few words about BP’s recent investment (along with Google) in BrightSource Energy, a new player in large-scale solar thermal technology.
- An address by Dr. Rommel Noufi of Solopower, because I’m looking for more info on the company’s closely-guarded thin film PV research.
