Friday, September 12, 2014
Stanford Graduate School of Business
Knight Management Center

Conference Program

There is little controversy that solar power system prices have declined dramatically in recent years, while new solar installations have grown rapidly. Are these trends likely to continue for the foreseeable future?

The Graduate School of Business and the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy and Finance at Stanford University hosted this one-day, invitation-only conference on “The Road Ahead for the Global Solar PV Industry.”

Through thought-provoking presentations and discussions, business leaders from the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry, academic researchers, and policymakers examined key questions, including:

• What are the latest trends in the solar PV industry?
• How technological improvements, financing mechanisms, and public policy are likely to impact the future of the solar PV industry?
• Is there a continued need for public policy support, both federally and at the state level, in order for solar PV to maintain its recent growth trajectory?

AGENDA

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11

5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Welcome Reception, Palo Alto

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

8:15 – 8:45 a.m.
Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:45 – 8:50 a.m.
Welcome
Stefan Reichelstein, Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Business

8:50 – 9:00 a.m.
Opening Remarks
Mike Carr, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy

9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Session One — Module Manufacturing and Large-scale Deployment Perspective
Presenter: Tom Werner, President and Chief Executive Officer, SunPower Corporation
Discussants:
David Brochu, Chief Operating Officer, Recurrent Energy
Frank DeRosa, Chief Commercial Officer, North America, SunEdison 

10:00 – 10:15 a.m.
Break

10:15 – 11:15 a.m.
Session Two — Government and Regulatory Perspective
Presenter: David Hochschild, Commissioner, California Energy Commission
Discussants:
Andrew Beebe, Vice President, Distributed Generation, NextEra Energy Inc. 
Dan Reicher, Executive Director, Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, Stanford University

11:15 – 11:30 a.m.
Break

11:30 a.m.– 12:30 p.m.
Session Three — Future of Photovoltaic Technologies Perspective
Presenter: Michael McGehee, Professor of Material Science and Engineering, Stanford University
Discussants:
Joseph Laia, Co-Chair, CIGS PV Roadmap
Gregory Wilson, Director, National Center for Photovoltaics, National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch

1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Session Four — Economic and Financing Perspective
Presenter: Douglas Kimmelman, Senior Partner, Energy Capital Partners
Discussants:
J. Radford Small, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
Raymond Wood, Managing Director–Head of U.S. Power and Renewables, Bank of America Merrill Lynch

2:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Break

2:45 – 3:45 p.m.
Session Five — Distributed Generation Perspective
Presenter: Edward Fenster, Cofounder and Chairman, Sunrun Inc.
Discussants:
Thomas Bottorff, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Sanjay Ranchod, Senior Director of Policy and Electricity Markets, Regulatory Counsel, SolarCity Corporation

3:45 – 4:45 p.m.
Session Six — Panel Discussion: The Road Ahead for the Solar PV Industry
Moderator: Vishal Shah, Managing Director, Deutsche Bank
Panelists:
Minh Le, Director, Solar Energy Technologies Office, Department of Energy
Mark Rothleder, Vice President, Market Quality and Renewable Integration, California Independent System Operator
Tom Starrs, Vice President, Market Strategy and Policy, SunPower Corporation
Bertrand Valdman, Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning, Edison International

4:45 – 5:00 p.m.
Wrap-up

5:00 p.m.
Reception

SPEAKERS

Andrew Beebe, Vice President, Distributed Generation, NextEra Energy Inc.

Andrew Beebe is the vice president of distributed generation for Nextera Energy, the largest green energy company in the U.S. Previously, Beebe served as the chief commercial officer at Suntech. He managed five global business units and the centralized global marketing function. With over $2 billion in sales in 2011, Suntech was the largest solar company in the world during Beebe's tenure. Beebe also served as the vice president of global product strategy, where he drove Suntech's global product roadmap. Beebe joined Suntech in 2008 when his company, EI Solutions, was acquired by Suntech Power Holdings. Previous to the acquisition, Beebe grew EI Solutions from a three-person installer to a major regional player supporting customers such as Google, Disney, Sony Pictures, and British Telecom. In a previous life, Beebe was an internet entrepreneur who founded Bigstep.com, a small business e-commerce platform. Beebe graduated from Dartmouth College and lives in Burlingame, California with his wife and three children.

Tom Bottorff (MS '76), Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Tom Bottorff is a senior vice president at Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Before joining the utility, he was a power supply analyst with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C. Bottorff received a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master of science degree in engineering economic systems from Stanford University. He also holds general contractor licenses (A & B) in the state of California. Bottorff serves on the boards of directors of several non-profit organizations, including the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Habitat for Humanity (Sonoma County chapter).

David Brochu (MSME '86), Chief Operating Officer, Recurrent Energy

David Brochu is the chief operating officer of Recurrent Energy, leading all project development, engineering, procurement, construction, operations, and origination activities. Before assuming the role of COO, he served the company’s senior vice president of development for four years, overseeing all development activities. Brochu was previously the president and chief executive officer of UPC Solar, a solar PV developer with a pipeline of projects in Ontario, Canada and the U.S. Brochu’s past experience includes vice president of sales and marketing at SmartSignal Corporation (now a GE company), where he negotiated turbine and power plant monitoring agreements with major U.S. utilities; executive vice president at Acumence, a business intelligence software company; and director of sales at Wonderware Corporation, a leader in industrial automation software. Brochu sits on the Illinois Solar Energy Association board of directors. He graduated with a BS degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University in 1985, and earned a MS degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University in 1986.

Mike Carr, Principal Assistant Secretary, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Department of Energy

In his role as the principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of EERE, Mike Carr provides leadership direction on cross-cutting activities in EERE's portfolio. In particular, he is using his experience in policy development to help ensure that EERE's activities align with national priorities and that policymakers have the best information possible about the opportunities presented by the EERE technology portfolio. Since 1996, Carr has advised on law and policy both inside and outside of government, with a particular specialization in environment and natural resources law. Prior to taking on the principal deputy position, from 2004 to June 2012 Carr served as a senior counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. His portfolio primarily focused on technology development programs, including vehicle technology as well as financing and early commercialization of emergent energy, and energy efficiency technologies. In that influential role, Carr conducted significant work drafting and guiding legislation through Congress that now directs major Department of Energy programs and efforts. In private practice, he specialized in litigation involving the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act. He managed environmental and appropriations issues for Rep. David Skaggs (D-CO) until 1998, then worked in the Solicitor's Office of the Department of the Interior through 2002. Carr holds a law degree from Lewis and Clark College, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Frank DeRosa, Chief Commercial Officer, North America, SunEdison

Frank DeRosa is chief commercial officer for SunEdison North America. He is responsible for origination and development of utility-scale solar in the U.S. DeRosa is an energy executive with broad national and international experience in the power generation, electric utility, power markets, and renewable energy industry. During his career, DeRosa has developed nearly 5,000 megawatts of power generation with long-term power purchase agreements, including over 3,000 megawatts of utility-scale solar. Prior to SunEdison, he was senior vice president and regional manager of the Americas at First Solar. DeRosa also founded, ran, and sold the largest independent solar energy development company in North America, NextLight Renewable Power. Prior to NextLight Renewable Power, he was director of power contracts for PG&E, where he ran the company’s Renewable Portfolio Standard program. DeRosa has testified before Congress and state authorities on energy markets, facilities siting, and electricity regulation.

Edward Fenster (MBA '07), Cofounder and Chairman, Sunrun Inc.

Edward Fenster cofounded Sunrun to make solar affordable for American families. Under his leadership, Sunrun has enjoyed uninterrupted access to project finance throughout its history. The company has attracted capital to support the purchase of more than $2 billion in solar systems and has raised $155 million in venture capital from Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital, Foundation Capital, and Madrone Capital Partners. Fenster has worked to shape public and industry policy with the goal of building a sustainable, subsidy-free solar industry. Before Sunrun, he served as the director of corporate development at Asurion Corporation. Fenster also worked at The Blackstone Group, completing more than $10 billion in private equity and mergers and acquisitions transactions. Fenster is a 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award winner with Lynn Jurich, a member of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, and serves as an advisory partner to Millennium Technology Value Partners. He holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BA from Johns Hopkins University.

David Hochschild, Commissioner, California Energy Commission

David Hochschild is a commissioner with the California Energy Commission, where he was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to fill the environmental seat. Prior to joining the Energy Commission, Hochschild worked in Silicon Valley in solar manufacturing, and he was an advisor to San Francisco mayor Willie Brown. He holds a masters of public policy from Harvard University and a BA from Swarthmore College.

Douglas Kimmelman (BA '82), Senior Partner, Energy Capital Partners

Douglas Kimmelman is the senior partner and founder of Energy Capital Partners, a private equity firm with over $13 billion of capital commitments under management. The firm’s notable investments include over 2,500 miles of gas and oil gathering pipeline systems in multiple shale basins, a portfolio of approximately 9,000 megawatt of predominantly natural gas-fired power generating facilities, the development and sale of two of the largest solar fields in the world, several environmental businesses involved in nuclear decommissioning and the reduction of coal power plant emissions, and a recently-announced acquisition of a large portfolio of waste-to-energy projects. Prior to the formation of Energy Capital, Kimmelman was a partner of Goldman Sachs, having spent 22 years with the firm focused exclusively on electric and gas utility matters. Kimmelman received a BA in economics from Stanford University in 1982 and an MBA from the Wharton School in 1984.

Joseph R. Laia, Co-Chair, CIGS PV Roadmap

Joseph Laia has been consulting for the photovoltaic and high-technology industries over the past two years. Prior to this, he served as president and chief executive officer of Miasole, group vice president for metrology products at KLA-Tencor, group vice president for process equipment at KLA-Tencor. Laia was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Blue29, a KLA-Tencor and Dainippon Screen joint venture focused on electroless cobalt deposition for semiconductor manufacturing. He also held several positions at Novellus Systems, including vice president and general manager of the integrated metals businesses, vice president and general manage of the high-density plasma CVD business, and senior director of strategic marketing and business development. Prior to Novellus, Laia spent 11 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Laia holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, a master’s degree in materials science and engineering, and a doctorate degree in materials science and engineering from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Minh Le, Director, Solar Energy Technologies Office, Department of Energy

Minh Le is the director of the Solar Energy Technologies Office within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), where he helps manage and balance a roughly $1 billion multi-year portfolio of research, development, demonstration, and deployment programs to achieve the goals of the SunShot Initiative. The DOE SunShot Initiative is a collaborative national initiative to make solar energy technologies fully cost-competitive with other forms of energy by reducing the cost of solar energy systems by about 75% before 2020. Reducing the total installed cost for utility-scale solar electricity to roughly six cents per kilowatt hour without subsidies will result in rapid, large-scale adoption of solar electricity across the United States. Prior to his current role at the DOE, Le spent his career in the semiconductor and solar industry developing technologies and scaling new technologies to high volume manufacturing. Le earned his BS and MS degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he held fellowships with the DOE, the Department of Defense, and the Bose Foundation.

Michael McGehee, Professor of Material Science and Engineering, Stanford University

Michael D. McGehee is a professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department, director of the Center for Advanced Molecular Photovoltaics, and a senior fellow of the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford University. His research interests are patterning materials at the nanometer length scale, semiconducting polymers, and solar cells. McGehee has taught courses on nanotechnology, nanocharacterization, organic semiconductors, polymer science, and solar cells. He received his undergraduate degree in physics from Princeton University and his PhD degree in materials science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he did research on polymer lasers in the lab of Nobel laureate Alan Heeger. McGehee won the 2007 Materials Research Society Outstanding Young Investigator Award. He is a technical advisor to Next Energy, PLANT PV, Plextronics, and Sinovia. His students have founded four solar cell, and one transparent electrode startup companies.

Sanjay Ranchod (JD '01), Senior Director of Policy and Electricity Markets, Regulatory Counsel, SolarCity Corporation

Sanjay Ranchod is the senior director of policy and electricity markets, and regulatory counsel at SolarCity, a national leader in clean energy services that provides homeowners, business and government organizations cleaner, more affordable alternatives to their utility bills. Ranchod leads SolarCity’s legislative, regulatory, and advocacy interests in California and other western states. He also provides legal advice and analysis to company business units. Prior to joining SolarCity, Ranchod represented renewable energy companies and other businesses on regulatory matters as an attorney at the Paul Hastings law firm. He serves on the board of directors of the California Solar Energy Industries Association and The Sierra Club Foundation. He received a BA from Brown University and a JD from Stanford Law School.

Stefan Reichelstein, Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Business

Stefan Reichelstein is the William R. Timken Professor of Accounting at Stanford Graduate School of Business. His teaching has spanned financial and managerial accounting courses offered to undergraduate, MBA, and doctoral students. In recent years, he has introduced new courses on sustainability and clean energy at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Reichelstein’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and a range of private foundations. Reichelstein serves on the editorial boards of several journals. He is currently an editor of the Review of Accounting Studies, and Foundations and Trends in Accounting. Until 2010, he served as the department editor for accounting at Management Science. Reichelstein has also been a consultant to select companies and non-profit organizations. Reichelstein received his PhD from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 1984. Prior to that, he completed his undergraduate studies in economics at the University of Bonn in Germany. Reichelstein has received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Fribourg (2008) and Mannheim (2011). In 2007, Reichelstein was appointed an honorary professor at the University of Vienna.

Dan Reicher (JD '83), Executive Director, Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance

Dan Reicher is the executive director of the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, a joint center of Stanford Law School and Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he also holds faculty positions. Reicher has over 25 years of experience in energy technology, policy, and finance, including serving in the Clinton administration at the Department of Energy as the assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy and recently as a member of President Obama's transition team. Reicher came to Stanford in 2011 from Google, where he served since 2007 as director of climate change and energy initiatives. Reicher holds a BA in biology from Dartmouth College and a JD from Stanford Law School. He also studied at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mark Rothleder, Vice President, Market Quality and Renewable Integration, California Independent System Operator Corporation

Mark Rothleder is the vice president, market quality and renewable integration at the California Independent System Operator (ISO) Corporation and is leading the ISO’s renewable integration work. Rothleder has held several critical positions at the ISO after joining the grid operator as one of its first employees in 1997. He is now the longest serving ISO employee. Before being named vice president, he was the executive director of market analysis and development. His previous positions included the principal market developer and the director of market operations. In spring 2009, Rothleder led a multifunctional team in designing and implementing market rules and software modifications related to the ISO’s Market Redesign and Technology Upgrade. Since joining the ISO, Rothleder has worked extensively on implementing and integrating the approved market rules for California’s competitive wholesale energy and reserves markets. Rothleder is a registered Professional Electrical Engineer in the state of California and holds a BS degree in electrical engineering from the California State University, Sacramento. He has taken postgraduate coursework in Power System Engineering from Santa Clara University and earned an MS in information systems from the University of Phoenix. Prior to joining the ISO, Rothleder worked for eight years in the electric transmission department of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, where his responsibilities included operations engineering, transmission planning, and substation design.

Vishal Shah, Managing Director, Deutsche Bank

Vishal Shah joined Deutsche Bank in July 2011 as managing director and is currently responsible for coverage of Clean Technology, Engineering/Construction and Machinery sectors. Shah has more than 10 years' experience as a clean technology analyst. Prior to joining Wall Street, Shah worked at Applied Materials in the Engineering and Sales divisions. Shah was ranked among the top three alternative energy analysts in the 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013 All-America Research Team surveys. Shah has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology and an MBA from INSEAD.

J. Radford Small, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs

Radford Small is the chief operating officer of the Clean Technology and Renewables group within the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs, where he is responsible for managing client relationships and executing transactions in the alternative energy and power sectors. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1998 and has specialized in the energy sector for over 14 years. Small was named managing director in 2006. Prior to joining the firm, Small was a tax attorney at Coudert Brothers in New York. Small earned a BA in economics from the University of California, a JD from Loyola Law School and an LLM in taxation from the New York University School of Law.

Tom Starrs, Vice President, Market Strategy and Policy, SunPower Corporation

Tom Starrs serves as SunPower Corporation’s vice president, market strategy and policy. He has been at SunPower since 2009. Starrs has more than 20 years' experience in and around the solar power industry, including senior management positions with Iberdrola Renewables, PPM Energy, and Schott Solar. Starrs is widely recognized as a leading strategist on solar energy market assessment, business development and policy. He has served on the boards of the American Solar Energy Society, the California Foundation on the Economy and the Environment, the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies, the Solar Alliance, the Solar Electric Power Association, the Solar Energy Industries Association, and Vote Solar. Starrs holds a PhD in Energy and Resources from the University of California, Berkeley, and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Law. He lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

Bertrand Valdman, (MA '86, PhD '87), Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning, Edison International

Bertrand (Bert) Valdman is the senior vice president of strategic planning for Edison International. Valdman is responsible for directing the strategy of Edison International, which is the parent company of Southern California Edison, one of the nation’s largest utilities, and Edison Mission Group, an independent power producer and provider of capital and financial services. He is leading Edison International’s growth initiatives in competitive businesses and is responsible for managing these entities at a newly-formed subsidiary, Edison Energy. Prior to joining Edison International, Valdman was the executive vice president and chief operating officer of Puget Sound Energy, where he was responsible for regulated electric and natural gas distribution operations, as well as the Customer Service, Information Technology, and Community Affairs functions. Valdman also served as Puget Energy’s chief financial officer from 2003 through 2007. Before joining Puget Energy, he was a managing director with JP Morgan, where he spent 16 years in a variety positions in the investment bank in New York and Paris. Valdman serves on the board of Calgary-based Veresen Inc., where he chairs the Audit Committee and is a member of the Governance Committee. He has served on a variety of community boards including Lakeside School, Overlake Hospital, Puget Sound Blood Center, and the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Valdman has a bachelor’s degree in history from Northwestern University and masters and doctoral degrees from Stanford University.

Thomas H. Werner, President and Chief Executive Officer, SunPower Corporation

Tom Werner serves as SunPower’s president and chief executive officer, and as chairman of the SunPower board of directors. Prior to joining the company, he held the position of chief executive officer of Silicon Light Machines, Inc., an optical solutions subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. Previously, Werner was vice president and general manager of the Business Connectivity Group of 3Com Corporation, a network solutions company. He has also held a number of executive management positions at Oak Industries, Inc., and General Electric Co. Werner currently serves as a board member of Cree, Inc., Silver Spring Networks, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and is a member of the Marquette University board of trustees. Werner holds a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Marquette University, and a master's degree in business administration from George Washington University.

Gregory Wilson, Director, National Center for Photovoltaics, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Greg Wilson is the director of the National Center for Photovoltaics (NCPV) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Wilson is responsible for NREL’s PV and PV reliability research and development portfolio, and for continued development of the NCPV’s many interfaces and partnerships with the global PV community. Prior to joining NREL in 2011 Wilson spent nearly 17 years at SunEdison (previously MEMC) where he directed the Epitaxial Silicon and New Materials R&D groups between 1997 and 2009. In 2009 he joined the merger and acquisition team that acquired SunEdison and Solaicx. Wilson has over 25 years of research and development experience and holds a DSc in chemical engineering from Washington University.

Raymond Wood, Managing Director, Head of U.S. Power and Renewables, Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Ray Wood is a managing director and head of U.S. power and renewables for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Over his 25-year career, Wood has assisted clients on several noteworthy strategic transactions and financings, a number of which have been awarded “Deal of the Year” honors. He has transaction expertise across the spectrum of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), initial public offerings, leveraged finance, structured finance, commodities, and privatizations. Wood’s noteworthy transactions include serving as lead-left bookrunner for $495 million NRG Yield initial public offering; sole-managing Next Era’s term loan B financing for its ERCOT gas fired facilities for $1.15 billion; advising LS Power on the sale of the Blythe power facility; advising Next Era in connection with its divestiture of five natural gas-fired plants for around $1.4 billion; acting as lead manager $700mm Genesis Solar Project Non-Recourse secured notes (DOE Loan Guarantee); acting as lead manager several wind corporate financings of Invenergy, Terra Gen, and First Wind; acting as lead manager for the IPOs of SolarCity, Iberdrola Renewables, Enel Green, and Calpine; working on M&A advisory in downstream solar including FRV’s sale to MEMC and MEMC’s acquisition of SunEdison; assisting with private equity raise and multiple tax equity investments for SunRun, SolarCity, Atlantic Power, Invenergy Wind, Kroad Power, and the Wind Capital Group; and handling multiple financings and advisory work for Boston Gen, Mirant, First Wind, Centerpoint as well as other utilities and IPPs. Wood received a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.