2011 Solar Symposium | A Critical Component of Meeting the Clean Energy Challenge
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On April 26, 2011, the GW Solar Institute held its Third Annual Symposium entitled A Critical Component of Meeting the Clean Energy Challenge.
The event featured a keynote address from Minh Le, Chief Engineer of DOE's Solar Energy Technologies Program, who discussed the President's clean energy challenge and the Department's SunShot Initiative, which aims to reduce solar costs to one dollar per watt by the year 2020.
Following the keynote, a panel of leading solar companies, including First Solar, SunPower, SolarReserve, and SundEdison, discussed the feasability of meeting this goal and what challenges lie ahead as they move forward with deployment. A second panel comprised of other private sector companies discussed what steps they see in the market, and at their own firms, are being taken to incorporate clean energy into operations and the broader economy.
The first afternoon session addressed the progress of solar technology from an academic perspective, while the last two sessions featured presentations from industry and legal experts on the variability challenge facing solar energy and the grid, and examined transmission scenarios for electricty from solar.
Ken Zweibel - Director, GW Solar Institute, Presentation
Steven Lerman - Provost, George Washington University
Peg Barratt - Dean, GW Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Keynote: SunShot, The Apollo Mission of Our Time | Session Video
Minh Le - Deputy Manager and Chief Engineer, Solar Energy Technologies Program, US Department of Energy, Presentation
Moderator: Randall Packer, Associate Dean of the GW Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Jim Torpey - Director, Market Development, SunPower, Presentation Kathleen Weiss - Vice President of Government Affairs, First Solar, Presentation
Thomas Georgis - Vice President of Development, Solar Reserve, Presentation
Simon Watson - Director, Utility Market Strategy, SunEdison, Presentation
Panel Discussion: Private Sector Taking Up the Clean Energy Challenge | Session Video
Scott Sklar - President, The Stella Group, Presentation Andrew Murphy - Executive Vice President of the Northeast Region, NRG Energy, Inc. Elizabeth Singleton - Global Business Development Leader, Energy and Climate Change, The Dow Chemical Company
James Sites - "PV's Leading Edge," Colorado State University, Presentation
Clemens Heske - "Hard Problems Improving the Best PV," University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Presentation
Stuart Licht - "Solar Thermal Hybrids," George Washington University, Presentation
Speaker Series: Tackling the Variability Challenge | Session Video
Bob Gibson - "Utility Perspective on Solar Energy," Solar Electric Power Assoication (SEPA), Presentation Carl Lenox - "Connecting Variable Solar to the Grid," SunPower, Presentation Chris Cook - "Regulatory and Economic Issues of Grid Integration," Keyes & Fox, LLP, Presentation
Speaker Series: Solar - Distributed or Central? Distant or Close By? | Session Video
Bill Powers - "California and Distributed PV," Powers Engineering, Presentation
Steve Burns - "Transmission for the Solar Grand Plan," George Washington University, Presentation Richard Perez - "Grid Parity - A Value Based Perspective," SUNY Albany, Presentation
