AGRION San Francisco is proud to welcome a French delegation of photovoltaic energy professionals (Solar Tech Tour 2011) for this onsite meeting to be hosted in San Jose. Confirmed guests joining our round table discussion:

French Delegation: 

Total, Marc Vermeersch, Ph.D, Head of Solar and New Energies R&D Department

Saint Gobain, Didier Jousse, Product Strategy Director

EDF R&D, Yves Schlumberger, Manager Solar Technologies

EDF R&D, Matthieu Versavel, Ph.D, Research Engineer in Charge of PV Partnerships

MPO, Sylvin de Magnienville, Head of R&D
Institut National de l'Energie Solaire (French R&D Laboratory) Jean-Pierre Joly, General Director

CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research) Daniel Lincot, Ph.D, Director of IRDEP and Director of Research at CNRS

ADEME Jean-Guillaume Peladan, Director, Investissements d'Avenir

Centre d'Analyse Strategique (Government) Gaelle Hossie, Junior Policy Advisor at the Department of Sustainable Development

PhotoFuel (Startup Company), Thomas Coquil, Ph.D, Associate and Manager

Heliotrop (Startup Company) Paul Bellavoine, Managing Director

Exosun (Startup Company), Frédéric Conchy, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

SOLAR TECH TOUR BIOS & PRESENTATION

Co-Organized by:

San Francisco Science and Technology Office, Embassy of France, Thomas Deschamps

San Francisco Science and Technology Office, Embassy of France, Pauline Caumon

Washington Science and Technology Office, Embassy of France, Marc Magaud

Invest in France Agency, Caroline Laporte

AGENDA:

In May 2011, solar became the fastest-growing US industry, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (U.S. Solar Market Insight: First Quarter 2011). Although relatively young, the solar industry is an increasingly competitive market affected by externalities such as the availability of financial incentives and technological innovation. Adoption ultimately depends on cost and efficiency; there has been a constant decrease in the price of solar energy and companies are pushing back the limits of efficiency, thus, mass deployment seems closer and closer. At the same time, pure players in the solar sector have been under pressure. Overcapacity and the delicate equation between technology push and demand have driven companies towards finding new segments of the supply chain to capture additional value and growth. Vertical integration has been viewed as a way to generate demand and move into project implementation for solar manufacturers.

As a strategic target, there has been a burst of interest with new actors lining up to profit from the takeoff of solar: BP, Total & DuPont are the most recent moves. These new conglomerates will have various effects on the industry and may buffer the uncertainty and risk related to technological leaps and governmental support fluctuations. It’s time to gather the Agrion solar community and ask: how can solar companies face the current turbulence in incentives in Europe and in the United States? Where will the next technological leap come from? How does vertical and horizontal integration affect the bottom line of solar? Where will the next big push for solar energy come from? Can pure players afford their growth alone? How can the solar industry work together to fully profit from the current opportunity while limiting its exposure to uncertainty?

8:00am:    Networking Breakfast 

8:30am:    Panel Discussion

1.    Incentives & Funding Options for Solar Projects

• Update on PV feed in tariffs, loan guarantees & capital subsidies
• Innovative financing models and new financial alliances in the private sector for widespread adoption
• How can solar companies compete in low-profit markets
• Can engineering procurement & construction integrators and developers maintain their ownership in large scale projects?

2.    M&A in the Solar Industry: Capturing Value and Growth

• Vertical/horizontal integration: risks and opportunities affecting the bottom line of solar
• The birth of new solar giants: strategies for expanding renewable energy portfolios
• How do the new funds such a debt credits affect the industry?
• What are some successful attempts in capturing value throughout the supply chain?
• Which companies will fail to survive? Which companies will be the next for IPO?

3.    Promising Solar Technology & Growing Markets

• How does technology & innovation affect the overall solar market?
• Is there a major shift towards utility scale solar projects
• How will micro inverters affect small scale systems?
• What are the next steps in addressing the soft costs in solar?
• India, Japan, South Korea, Australia: new promising markets?
• New technology and investment perspectives

10:00am:    Networking  

10:30am:    End of Meeting

Speakers:

Crosslink Capital, Alain Harrus, Venture Partner

Skyline Solar, Tim Keating, VP of Marketing and Field Operations

SolarCity, Ben Tarbell, VP of Products

Total S.A., Marc Vermeersch, Head of R&D Dept., Solar and New Energies

Wells Fargo, Puon A. Penn, Senior Vice President, Head of CleanTech & Emerging Markets

Westinghouse Solar, Barry Cinnamon, President, CEO & Director

Moderator:

Michael Kanellos

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