Read the full press release here.

The first solar and smart grid integration focused event is coming to New Jersey in January 2011: Networked Solar. With renewable energy impacting the electric grid, renewable energy portfolios required by state governments and the evolution of smart grid and solar technologies, this timely event will highlight the new challenges these industries face. Networked Solar will focus on the opportunities these challenges create, including job growth, innovative policy changes and new technology venues.

Greentech Media will host Networked Solar in Jersey City, NJ on January 25–26, 2011. Greentech Media’s research arm, GTM Research, will provide in-depth market research including data, overviews and forecasts on the U.S. solar and smart grid markets. New Jersey-based Petra Solar’s CEO, Dr. Shihab Kuran, will present the keynote, highlighting how the company's innovative solar plus smart grid technology provides key commercial benefits and addresses meaningful challenges for utilities, while also creating green jobs and promoting local economic development. The U.S. Department of Energy, through its Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems (SEGIS) program, has awarded Petra Solar over $6M in funding to develop technology that prepares the electric grid for a future in which solar is a major energy source.

“As renewable energy technologies progress and become a more prevalent source of power for Americans, this integration with the smart grid will become increasingly important,” said Scott Clavenna, CEO of Greentech Media. “Bringing together experts from the solar and smart grid markets with leading policymakers and utilities creates an ideal forum for critical learning and sharing of best practices from solar and grid integration experiences to date.”

“Petra Solar is excited to be the signature sponsor of this important industry conference highlighting the integration of solar and smart grid. Thought leaders from the cleantech and utility sectors will examine the evolution of the smart grid and the value it will bring to utilities and consumers,” said Dr. Shihab Kuran, CEO of Petra Solar, the pioneer and market leader in grid-tied, pole-mounted, distributed solar generation systems with a smart grid backbone for utilities.

Panel speakers at the event will include CEOs and CTOs of solar and smart grid companies, heads of industry trade organizations, executives from major utilities and policymakers. GTM Research analysts will moderate panels and build conversations around the most relevant market insights. As with all Greentech Media events, the information presented at this conference will be an asset to executives, VPs and directors across industries, including finance, government, renewable energy equipment manufacturers, technology and smart grid manufacturers, security and IT, and more.

Registration is open for this event at an early bird rate until Jan. 1, 2011. Discounts are available for non-profit, academic and government employees; group discounts are also available. Visit the event website at http://www.networkedsolar2011.com for more information and to register.