Breakfast & Check-In
Welcome and Opening Polling Session: Get to Know the Audience

Moderator: Julian Spector, Staff Writer, Greentech Media

Keynote Panel: Towards a Solar-Dominated Energy Future

How are solar leaders putting solar integration, storage and digitalization at the core of their business models and operations to achieve baseload solar? And what role can technology and regulations have in accelerating this transition?

Tom Werner, President & CEO, SunPower
Cris Eugster, Chief Operations Officer, CPS Energy
Kris Mayes, Professor of Utility Law and Energy Policy, Arizona State University
Mathew Sachs, Vice President, Distributed Energy, National Grid Ventures

Moderator: Julia Pyper, Contributing Editor, Greentech Media

Research Presentation: The Global Solar Outlook for 2019

An interdisciplinary group of Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables analysts will discuss key growth drivers for global solar markets, breaking down predictions on the impact of supply / demand dynamics, technology advancements and international trade tensions.

Tom Heggarty, Principal Analyst, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables

Networking Break
Welcome Back from the Networking Break

Karl-Erik Stromsta, Managing Editor, Greentech Media

Panel: Maximizing Project Margins Throughout the ITC Phasedown

Solar leaders will take part in a discussion around key capital origination, cost optimization and procurement strategies to weather the ITC stepdown storm while securing strong margins.

Kenneth Labeja, Director, Business Development, Avangrid
Scott Moskowitz, Director of Strategy and Market Intelligence, Hanwha Q CELLS America
Phil Robinson, Director of Project Finance, Constellation Energy

Moderator: Michelle Davis, Senior Analyst, Solar, Wood Mackenzie

Research Presentation: 2019 State Policy Compass

Pinpointing U.S. solar growth opportunities in a declining ITC world.

Austin Perea, Senior Analyst, Wood Mackenzie

Networking Lunch

Sponsored By:

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Reaching New Highs in System Performance… and New Lows in Component Pricing
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Cost of Capital Outlook Amid the ITC Phasedown
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Research Presentation: Mapping System Pricing Reductions – How Far Can the Drop in Prices Go?

Describing the downward price trends for solar components in 2019-2020.

Benjamin Gallagher, SME, Carbon & Emerging Technology, Energy Transition Practice, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables

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Research Presentation: Understanding Financial Risk for Solar in 2019-2022

Examining trends and drivers across tax equity, debt, and sponsor equity as project finance for US solar diversifies.

Michelle Davis, Senior Analyst, Solar, Wood Mackenzie

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Panel: Single-Axis Trackers & Bifacial Modules - Overall System Impacts on Performance and Costs

Breaking down the specific ways in which SATs and bifacial modules are resulting in better performing and more cost-effective solar systems.

Hongbin Fang, Ph.D., Director of Product and Technology, LONGi Solar
Sergio Prado, Sales Manager Mexico, Soltec
Greg Beardsworth, Sr. Director of Product Management, NEXTracker
Travis Rose, VP of Sales, Array Technologies

Moderator: Benjamin Gallagher, SME, Carbon & Emerging Technology, Energy Transition Practice, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables

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Panel: The Impact of the ITC Phasedown on Consumer Finance for Residential Solar

How will the ITC phasedown impact demand for residential solar consumer finance offerings? What reactions can we expect from tax equity providers and banks? And how will that affect pricing for leases, PPAs and loans?

Alex McDonough, Vice President, Public Policy, Sunrun
Tanguy Serra, Chief Strategy Officer, Loanpal
Erin Talbot, General Manager - Solar, Mosaic

Moderator: Allison Mond, Senior Analyst, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables

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Betting on Floatovoltaics: Shedding Light on Floating PV Opportunities in the U.S.

Join NREL for a presentation on early findings on the potential for floating PV development in the U.S, covering feasible regions and water bodies., sensitivity analysis of factors affecting LCOE, operational and economic co-benefits, climate factors and early data on system performance and reliability.

Teresa Barnes, Ph.D., Group Manager, PV Reliability and Systems Engineering, NREL
Robert Spencer, Data Scientist & Software Developer, NREL

Moderator: Molly Cox, Solar Analyst, Wood Mackenzie

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Fireside Chat: In a Co-Op's Shoes

Electrical cooperatives are typically overlooked when it comes to reviewing the challenges faced by utilities when it comes to solar generation. This fireside chat with Arizona G&T's CEO will provide a unique opportunity to understand the specific pain points experienced by co-ops as they work to maximize solar procurement in an effort to provide reliable and resilient power at the lowest possible rates to their ratepayers.

Patrick Ledger, CEO, Arizona G&T Cooperative

Moderator: Colin Smith, Senior Analyst, Solar, Wood Mackenzie

Networking Break

Sponsored By:

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Panel: Reducing Operational Costs – A Look into Enhanced Efficiency in Solar Asset Management and Operations & Maintenance

What are the key cost optimization drivers for solar asset management and Operations & Maintenance?

Chris Prescott, Director of Renewable Operations, Southern Company
Laura Stern, President, Nautilus Solar Energy, LLC
Chris Frantz, Vice President Asset Management, Cypress Creek Renewables
Kent Miller, Sr. Vice President, Shoals

Moderator: Chad Singleton, Principal Analyst - Americas Power & Renewables, Wood Mackenzie

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Panel: Getting Solar + Storage Finance Right

This session will break down risks associated with financing solar + storage from multiple standpoints and will evaluate how factors associated with revenue streams impact these financing decisions.

Jordan Blanchard, Executive Vice President - Head of Energy & Infrastructure Lending, Live Oak Bank
Terry Grant, Managing Director, Marathon Capital
Jesse Grossman, CEO & Co-Founder, Soltage

Moderator: Daniel Finn-Foley, Head of Energy Storage, Wood Mackenzie

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Panel: Maximizing the Performance of Legacy Assets Through Repowering to Drastically Improve System Economics

What technologies and strategies are being deployed by EPCs, developers and inverter manufacturers to repower legacy assets? And what is the impact of repowering on overall cost savings and system economics?

Lida Jauregui-Rivera, Sr. Manager of Performance Engineering and Optimization, Clearway Energy Group
Levent Gun, CEO, Ampt, LLC
Erik Johnson, Director of Engineering, Swinerton
Landon Petruzzi, Senior Manager, Energy Services, First Solar

Moderator: Lindsay Cherry, Analyst, Solar, Wood Mackenzie

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Panel: Enhancing Flexibility in Solar Corporate PPAs

Corporate PPAs drove a quarter of total solar capacity procured in 2018. But there is one key demand corporate offtakers keep calling for: more flexible procurement and contractual structures. This panel discussion will review potential ways in which developers and financiers can satisfy these needs for flexibility.

Kyle Goehring, Executive Vice President Clean Energy Solutions, JLL
Gerry DaRosa, Director of Energy Innovations, Arizona State University
Nick Brown, Energy Manager, City of Phoenix

Moderator: Colin Smith, Senior Analyst, Solar, Wood Mackenzie

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Closing Roundtable: A 5-Year Technology Outlook for Module, Tracker and Inverter Systems

What are the key emerging trends impacting system performance and LCOEs for module, tracker and inverter systems in the next five years?

This roundtable discussion will venture into the near future to see what's cooking in the R&D departments of the leading module, tracker and inverter manufacturers in the industry.

When it comes to module technology, we will look at different silicon cell typologies: from p-type to n-type cells, as well as emerging cell types such as PERC, IBC and HIT. Also, we will evaluate what might be next for module design, including building-integrated photovoltaics.

In terms of trackers, we will look at what the next 5 years will bring in the smart trackers space (and LCOE improvements associated with improving sun path predictions), as well as how tracker design improvements can reduce exposure to increases in material costs, particularly steel costs.

On the inverter side of things, we will focus on silicon carbide, design trends for inverters and efficiencies on DC-to-AC conversion.

Nigel Cockroft, General Manager, Jinko Solar U.S. Inc.
Leila Madrone, CTO and Founder, Sunfolding
Nicola Sicchieri, VP Business Development Americas, Royal DSM B.V.
Ravi Dodballapur, Director of Application Engineering, SMA America

Moderator: Benjamin Gallagher, SME, Carbon & Emerging Technology, Energy Transition Practice, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables

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Closing Roundtable: Seizing the Solar Development Opportunity in Qualified Opportunity Zones

Led by solar investment experts, this closing roundtable discussion will decipher how the Qualified Opportunity Zones incentive framework -which offers tax benefits to equity investors that put money into over 8,700 designated “economically distressed” opportunity areas across the United States- could benefit solar development in these rural and urban underprivileged zones.

This industry conversation will shed light on the mechanics, qualifications and potential reductions for cost of capital of what has been described as a 'watershed moment' for the clean energy industry.

The discussion will also outline the level of interest Qualified Opportunity Zone funds have signalled towards solar, and how industry advocacy efforts can help this innovative finance strategy gain steam.

Joel Cohn, Partner, CohnReznick
Katherine Breaks, Tax Managing Director, KPMG
Stephen Tracy, Partner, Novogradac
Jon Bonanno, CXO, New Energy Nexus

Moderator: Scott Clavenna, Chairman, Greentech Media

Networking Reception

Sponsored By:

Day 2