Solar Conference Upbeat Despite Economic Storm Clouds

Record Attendance, Schwarzenegger Speech Mark Industry Gathering

by Gary M. Kaye
San Diego – October 16, 2008. Fresh from its last minute victory on the extension of tax credits, the solar industry was largely in a celebratory mood at the Solar Power International 2008 conference here in San Diego. According to conference organizers, some 18,000 professionals attended the event. Some 425 companies exhibited, while another 400 were on the exhibit waiting list. The usual suspects were all on hand with huge booths; Sharp, Sanyo, Kyocera, General Electric, Evergreen Solar, Akeena, and many others. But there were some relatively new entries making a splash as well, including a huge display of utility scale solar collectors from GreenVolts, which looked somewhat akin to rows of mirrored auditorium seats.
Among the speakers, a surprise visit from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who squeezed the conference in between overseeing efforts to get money to keep the state functioning, and a series of devastating wildfires. Just before speaking to the hastily assembled attendees, the governor toured the show floor, in a no question, no microphones, photo-op event.

In his remarks, he said that a sustained commitment to clean technologies can aid the country's economic recovery. He said the federal government “has been asleep at the switch” and that was one reason why California had gone its own way in formulating environmental policies. Many of those policies have now become models for both other states, the federal government and even other nations. He also noted that it took a financial disaster in order for Congress to pass tax credits to promote renewable energy. But he warned that the economic downturn may lead some policymakers to seek to scale back environmental measures. Instead, he said that states and countries should redouble their commitments to green technologies because these new industries create jobs.

"We must not give in to those that say that environmental goals should take a back seat until our economy comes back," Schwarzenegger said. "It's backwards thinking and just plain wrong."
He said that in many cases, "what's green for the environment can be green for the economy."

Other keynote speakers included former Supreme NATO Commander General Wesley Clark, who tied the development of renewable energy to national security. Clark serves on the board of directors of an Arkansas large scale wind enterprise. In an interview with Fox Business immediately after his speech Clark said the development of renewable energy resources is an absolute necessity to help the United States end the transfer of billions of dollars to countries whose policies are firmly opposed to those of the U.S.

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) delivered the closing keynote address. She was instrumental in the Senate battle supporting the extension of tax credits for solar and large scale wind, as well as a supporter of the addition of small scale wind as one of the qualifying technologies. Cantwell told Zero Energy News that she believes one of the next major challenges facing the nation will be improvements in the electrical grid system, a topic she admits isn’t sexy, but is necessary to ensure that energy generated by renewables can be effectively transmitted to the places where people live.

According to Julia Hamm, the Executive Director of the Solar Electric Power Association, the solar industry has been growing at 40% a year over the past five years. She expects continued growth even beyond that, particularly when it comes to utility scale solar. But executives of solar panel makers and installers who rely on the residential market were generally more cautious. Officials at Borrego, Lumeta, and Akeena admit that residential installations have slowed, and financing for new solar installations has become far more difficult to find. They say that with the general collapse of new homebuilding, they are facing a period of slower growth than they anticipated. At the same time, more diversified companies expect continued strong growth. Tom Werner, CEO of SunPower told Zero Energy News that he expects new industrial installations for companies that recognize the cost savings of renewables will increase, potentially offsetting the slower than expected growth for residential PV.

Executives from the industry organizers of the conference admitted to Zero Energy News that, “many of the companies you see out here on the show floor won’t survive the economic downturn.” And one executive put it simply, “It won’t be a matter of who can produce the most efficient solar panel, it will come down to who can produce a solar panel at the lowest price per kilowatt hour. That’s the company that will win. Period.” If it’s a horserace, the industry collectively has just left the starting gate, and there are likely to be a lot of lead changes before solar makes it anywhere near a finish.