May 07 2008

"Gimme an S!"

I'll be the first to admit it -- I don't really get all the fuss around big school rivalries. Yet I am surrounded by them through friends and family: UCLA-USC, Boise State-Univ. of Idaho...and, of course, UC Berkeley-Stanford.

While they may not play nice on the field, Berkeley and Stanford came together (for the second time!) in a meeting of the minds on cleantech, specifically "Big Solar," as this year's conference was aptly named.

PG&E, along with GreenVolts, SunPower and others working to bring solar to the masses discussed issues such as state policy and innovations in solar technology -- all as related to utility-scale solar. The idea is: by bringing together today's thought leaders with up-and-comers of tomorrow, not only can we work to address the framework issues of the day, we can also start sketching out a picture of what utility-scale solar power generation technology will look like in the future. Pretty exciting stuff.

I think most interesting was probably the 'Innovations in Technology' panel, which was moderated by Eric Wesoff of Greentech Media. During the panel, Eric raised the question of how the financing process and PPAs are able to integrate new technologies. As Hugh Kuhn of Solar Power Partners also pointed out at Greentech Media's Solar Finance & Forecast event: PPAs, while extremely complex, have lead to improved design and performance from integrators as well as new products, processes and services from manufacturers. Implication: change is underway in the solar industry, and we could see it unfold in a way that marries financial structures and technological innovation...cool.

So, paint your face, bust out the pom-poms and sound the rally cry. Big Solar is taking the field.

Posted by: Katie Romans | Comments (0) digg delicioussend to a friendprint entry

 

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  • This is being rather generous to Lutz. 1. The "Volt", in no small part, will be targeted as a product to people who care about energy and environmental issues. These people don't embrace Lutz' antideluvian concepts of rejecting science. How responsible is it for a GM executive to be rejecting the science? 2. As well, Lutz didn't exactly sound too enthusiastic about the Volt itself. 3. And, GM public communications has 'defended' Lutz in rather absurd ways. -A Siegel
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  • This article is right on - small businesses have a huge role to play in sustainability. Not only do they add up in aggregate, but many small businesses operate in industries that can have a significant environmental impact depending on the exact practices, like dry cleaners, auto repair shops, etc. Green is also starting to affect the bottom line more and more, customers are increasingly voting with their feet for more sustainable businesses as can be seen from the growth of sites like http://www.ecovian.com. This is also a huge opportunity for small businesses to leapfrog their bigger brothers by being more agile in adopting these measures. -Emily
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  • Great entry, Katie. Love the level of detail you managed to get in there! Probably won't be able to compete with coal and oil any time the next decade, but definitely a great technology to look into! Keep it up :) -Rune (Norway)
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