Distributed Power and the Solar Endgame

October 21, 2009 | Washington, DC

Thesis

Can zero-emission sources exceed 75% of all new electricity generation by 2012. If not, what are the obstacles to achieving this goal and what are the concrete steps can we make to overcome those obstacles? Steep decreases in panel prices and rising interest in distributed generation are driving a renaissance in solar photovoltaic power.

Will the cost curve continue to fall for solar and how will the utility structure we have today need to be adopted if solar approaches the cost of coal and other baseload sources? Even if clean energy generation reaches 75% all new sources by 2012, will this milestone put us on a path to being able to mitigate the effects of anthropogenic climate change?

Speakers

Jigar Shah: Founder - SunEdison, CEO, Carbon War Room
Neville Williams - Founder, Standard Solar
Travis Bradford - Founder, Prometheus Institute
Malcolm Woolf - Director, Maryland Energy Administration
Colin Murchie - Director of Government Affairs, Solar City
Michael Bowman - Founding Board Member, 25x‘25
Ken Zweibel - Founding Director, GWU Solar Institute

Sponsors