State & Stakeholder Newsletter, 10/6/10

Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Volume #9, Issue #20
Editor: Jane Pulaski

The IREC State & Stakeholder Newsletter is a foremost resource for current information on green workforce training, credentialing programs, state activities and best practices on renewable energy and energy efficiency. This free newsletter is distributed semi-monthly to email subscribers and published on IREC’s website.  If you have comments or if you would like to submit a news item, email Jane Pulaski.  To subscribe to this newsletter, click here and follow the instructions.

If you want the best news about what’s going on in the states and cities, read the State & Stakeholder Newsletter (October 6, 2010).

From the editor:

Countdown to IREC’s Annual Meeting and SPI 10: LA, here we come

I don’t know about you, but my bags are packed (almost), and I’m ready to go.   Weather reports for the week of Solar Power International 10 are absolutely perfect(no more triple digit days):  highs in the mid-70’s to 80’s, lows in the upper 50s to 60’s.

SPI conference organizers are expecting a very large turnout—in excess of 27K attendees, and more than 1,000 exhibitors (am I scaring you?) in THREE exhibition halls.  And to make you really happy, they’re opening Kentia Exhibition Hall 30 minutes earlier than the other two halls (South and West Exhibition Halls) each day to give you even more time to roam and meander.  There’s a great map on the SPI 10 website with information about who’s exhibiting in which hall, just to make it a bit easier to navigate.  You can create your own Expo Plan, there’s an interactive map, and if you’re into Foursquare, you’ll be able to find friends and colleagues especially easily.

Do yourself a favor:  wear comfy shoes.

The IREC team has a very busy schedule at SPI, starting out on Monday, October 11 with its Annual Meeting.

Not surprisingly, it’s an incredibly full day (here’s the Final Agenda).  From PV data and market growth to state solar and regulatory policies, from DOE and Solar ABCs updates to clean energy workforce development and credentialing, IREC (as usual) has assembled some of the best in the business to share the latest in these areas.  We’ll honor our 2010 Innovation and Special Recognition Awardees, and release our highly regarded 2010 Annual Updates and Trends Report.

As if that’s not enough to keep you on the edge of your chair, we’re doing a couple of new things this year:

–Roundtable discussion—your chance to talk back to us on some of today’s significant renewable energy issues.  We want to hear from you.

–A conversation with IREC.  Do you realize IREC has been around for almost 30 years (no joke).  IREC’s leadership—its past and present chairs, and it’s executive director, will close out the day with a conversation about where IREC has been, and what might be in store for us tomorrow. If you’re unable to make it to IREC’s Annual Meeting, fret not…we’ll be live tweeting.

But wait…there’s more.

On Tuesday, October 12^th, IREC’s legal team of Chris Cook and Kevin Fox (Keyes & Fox, LLC) will discuss third party ownership of financing solar, including leases, power purchase agreements and other regulatory hurdles. They’ll be talking from 2:00-3:30 p.m. in Room 502B in the Convention Center.

On Wednesday, October 13^th, Executive Director, Jane Weissman, will facilitate the hour-long Workforce Development Solar Swap Session, a lively, interactive conversation about how to prepare the clean energy workforce.  Catch Jane from 11 a.m-Noon in Room 406-B in the Convention Center.

And as you stroll through the South Exhibition Halls, stop by the Renewable Energy World live video booth (#booth #2527), next door to SEPA, SEIA and DOE’s booths.   On Tuesday, October 12^th at 11 a.m., Larry Sherwood will be talking about his highly-regarded U.S. solar market data.  And at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, October 13th, IREC’s Joe Wiedman of Keyes & Fox, LLC, will talk about community renewables.

And last, but certainly not least, we give a huge thanks to our very generous sponsors, without whom we couldn’t pull this off:  Orlando Utilities Commission, Tioga Energy, Deloitte, SunPower Corp., and The North Carolina Solar Center.  Thanks a million.

Rest up, folks.  It’s going to be a very busy week in L.A.

P.S.  We’ll have all the presentations available on our site a few days after the meeting.

Read the State & Stakeholder Newsletter, October 6, 2010

Jane Pulaski