California Center for Sustainable Energy

More than 500 attendees participated in the San Diego Solar Conference held as part of Solar Energy Week on Tuesday, Sept. 29. The conference featured solar experts and policymakers speaking about the latest policies, trends, technologies and markets for solar energy and discussions of what it all means for solar in San Diego. The all-day conference was held at the Marriott Mission Valley.

CCSE Executive Director Irene Stillings started the conference with welcoming remarks and some observations about the solar marketplace in China resulting from her recent trip there as part of a World Trade Council of San Diego trade mission. Other keynote speakers were San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob and Andrew McAllister, CCSE director of programs.

The conference proceeded with break-out sessions in four tracks: Finance & Rebates, Policy & Planning, The Clean-Tech Transition and Technology. A wealth of speakers presented talks on subjects ranging from legislative and workforce development to residential solar financing and new solar technologies. There were speakers from government agencies in San Diego, Sacramento, Portland (Ore.) and Washington, D.C., as well as industry and nonprofit organization representatives from throughout California. Each of the sessions included audience participation and discussions that continued into the break periods.

The conference delivered outstanding networking opportunities as promised. During the pre-conference breakfast, conference breaks, lunch and the after-conference reception, attendees mingled with presenters and fellow conference goers making connections and freely exchanging business cards.

Special thanks goes to Stone Brewing Company for providing beer for the conference reception, as well as to sponsors Mitsubishi Electric, SDG&E, the San Diego Electrical Training Center (IBEW), Photon Polar Power, Potero and GreenHouse. See more pictures from the San Diego Solar Conference 2009.

Solar Conference Speakers and Sessions (get all the presentations)

Welcome and opening remarks Irene Stillings 9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS 9:15 AM - 10:20 AM
“Powering today, tomorrow and beyond in America's #1 solar city” Mayor Jerry Sanders (9:15 am – 9:30 am) County Supervisor Dianne Jacob (9:35 – 9:50 am) California Center for Sustainable Energy Andrew McAllister (9:55 am – 10:20 am)
COFFEE BREAK
TRACKS/ BREAKOUT SESSIONS 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
TRACK: FINANCE & REBATES	TRACK: POLICY & PLANNING	TRACK: THE CLEAN TRANSITION	TRACK: TECHNOLOGY
Overview of Solar Incentive Programs 10:30 am – 12:00 pm CCSE staff will provide an overview of cash incentives available for going solar! This presentation will cover both residential and commercial applications. Participants: Ben Airth, CCSE Katrina Perez, CCSE Kat Phruksukarn, CCSE	Solar Legislative Development 10:30 am – 12:00 pm Get the update on recent and pending developments  in Sacramento that affect solar in San Diego. Participants: Sue Kateley, CALSEIA Doug White, CCSE	Workforce Development 10:30 am – 12:00 pm Learn about emerging opportunities for individuals to get educated and trained in the field of sustainable energy at the institutional, governmental, and private sector levels. Participants: Philip Jordan, San Diego and Imperial Center of Excellence Panama Bartholomy, CEC Patrick Knighton, IBEW John Walker, Talent Evolution	Solar Technologies 10:30 am – 12:00 pm This discussion will take a look at existing PV and SWH technologies currently in the marketplace, as well as market trends. Participants: Karl Holmberg, Son Energy Ross Fockler, Solar-Plus Dan Sullivan, Sullivan Solar
LUNCH 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
TRACKS/BREAKOUT SESSIONS PM #1 1:45 PM - 3:00 PM
TRACK: FINANCE TRACK: CLEAN-TECH TRANSITION TRACK: TECHNOLOGY Residential Solar Financing 1:45 pm to 3:00 pm Learn about traditional and alternatives financing options to help make going solar affordable for homeowners. Participants: Cisco DeVries, Renewable Funding David Arfin, Solar City Jim Ferguson, Palm Desert Ori Franco, Sun Run Distributed Generation to Utility Scale 1:45 pm to 3:00 pm Explore the differences between Distributed Generation and Utility Scale solar projects. Participants: Rob Anderson, SDG&E Borrego Solar, Mike Hall Jon Fortune, CCSE Steven Borchard, DOE-BLM What is a “Smart” Grid? 1:45 pm to 3:00 pm The idea of creating a Smart Grid has become the “it” topic for Energy Policy in 2009. This session will Explain how the “Smart Grid” ties into solar. Participants: Scott Anders, USD Janice Lin, StrateGen Lee Krevat, SDG&E
BREAK 3:00 PM - 3:15 PM
TRACKS/BREAKOUT SESSIONS PM #2 3:15 PM - 4:45 PM
TRACK: FINANCE & REBATES	TRACK: POLICY & PLANNING	TRACK: THE CLEAN TRANSITION	TRACK: TECHNOLOGY
Financing Commercial and Municipal Projects 3:15 pm to 4:45 pm Hear about the various options for financing large-scale commercial and municipal solar projects. Participants: Sophie Akins, Best, Best and Krieger	Rates and Tariffs 3:15 pm to 4:45 pm Participate in this frank discussion about the impacts of rates and  feed-in tariffs on solar development. Participants: Sue Kateley, CALSEIA	How is Solar Creating Sustainable Communities? 3:15 pm to 4:45 pm See what San Diego and other cities are doing to integrate solar into their sustainable communities. Participants: Andria Jacob, City of Portland Otto Van Geet, NREL Tim Treadwell, CCSE Linda Pratt, City of San Diego	New and Innovative Solar Technologies 3:15 pm to 4:45 pm Learn about new and innovative technologies in the solar industry. Participants: Diego Villamizar, SkyShades Brett Clapham, Akeena Solar
NETWORKING RECEPTION Immediately Following Conference