Breaking through the Barriers to a Solar Future in the Southwest
Registration is now closed.
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Monday, March 26, 2012, 7:30am – 7:00pm
and Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 8:30am – 12:30pm
Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix
Overview
Solar Summit 2012 will explore current barriers to solar expansion, delving into the challenges that seem to be standing in the way of a robust solar build-out.
Jon Wellinghoff, Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, will deliver the keynote address.
Jon Wellinghoff
Conference participants will discuss three distinct scenarios for a solar future for the Southwest:
- a robust distributed generation future in which distributed solar takes off, aided by a smarter grid and the development of micro-grids in cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Albuquerque and Denver;
- a solar future driven by strong inter-regional cooperation between the states on transmission, leading to regional solar development; and
- a transformational solar future in which the Southwest becomes the solar hub of the nation, driven by inter-regional development of transmission and generation, or the creation of a national REC market.
This conference will have a special focus on how state actors can work together with federal agencies in developing a solar future for the Southwest, and will include a “Solar CEOs Roundtable,” during which the CEOs of some of America’s top solar companies will discuss the major issues facing their industry in 2012.
Arizona Solar Summit 2012 is sponsored by the Center for Law, Science & Innovation, in partnership ASU LightWorks, ASU SkySong and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. Other sponsors include American for a Clean Energy Grid, SRP and Snell & Wilmer.
For sponsorship information, click here.
What happened last year
The first Arizona Solar Summit, held in August of 2011, brought together more than 120 people from 70 different organizations to advance the solar energy industry on a national and regional scale. The Summit launched the building of a network designed to address specific challenges that, if met, will propel Arizona to national prominence in the solar energy market. During the summit, three workshop panels – Solar Industry Cluster, Utility of the Future and Solar Energy Policy – explored different dimensions of Arizona’s leadership in the solar energy industry. Summit participants identified strategic collaborations designed to mobilize ideas, resources, and actions to strengthen Arizona’s solar energy capabilities as a global innovator. These collaborations were then combined into 4 initiatives (Supply Chain and Workforce Development, Applied Research Collaborations and Pilot Projects, Policy and Finance, and Building and Strengthening the Narrative), each headed up by a working group. Since August, each group has been working on advancing its established priorities and will report their progress at the 2012 Arizona Solar Summit.