November 8, 2023

 

5:00 PM - Opening Reception - "Solar Power Happy Hour"

Albany Stadium Restaurant and Bar
 

November 9, 2023

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This year's New York Solar Summit features concurrent panels on three distinct stages, each offering unique insights and discussions. To explore how these schedules align and create your personalized solar journey, visit our 'About' page.

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Trade Show - 8:00AM - 5:00PM

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Level 2 Conference Area

8:00 AM - Networking Breakfast

9:00 AM - Welcome/Opening Remarks

9:10 AM - Morning Keynote

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Doreen Harris, President and CEO of NYSERDA

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9:30 AM - Solar Champions Award and Virtual Power Plants

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Jigar Shah, Director of Loan Programs Office, U.S. Department of Energy

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10:00 AM - Market Outlook with America's Solar CEOs

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New York’s residential and community solar markets are among the strongest in the nation. Join this fireside chat with CEOs from the national solar companies leading New York’s residential, commercial and community solar market segments to learn how they are innovating to deploy solar at scale and to help New York achieve its ambitious clean energy and equity goals.

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Moderated by:

David Sandbank, NYSERDA

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Speakers:

Kiran Bhatraju, Arcadia
Dan Berwick, New Leaf Energy
Zaid Ashai, Nexamp
Ben Healey, PosiGen

10:45 AM - Networking Break

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11:05 AM - Long Island's Clean Energy Transition

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Tom Falcone, CEO of Long Island Power Authority
 

11:15 AM - Rooftop Solar + Storage: Noise at the Grid Edge or a Sleeping Giant?

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In 2022, New York set a record for new residential solar capacity reservation and deployment. This year, despite rising interest rates and challenges abound, New York’s rooftop solar market is on track for another record-setting year. What role does small-scale distributed solar + storage play in New York's decarbonization efforts? Can aggregations of distributed solar, storage, demand response and flexible-charging save New Yorkers billions of dollars by deferring or eliminating the need for expensive grid upgrades? Join this panel for an industry perspective on the potential for virtual power plants in New York State, and what it will take to actually build them at scale.

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Moderated by:

David Schieren, EmPower Solar

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Speakers:

Tom Falcone, Long Island Power Authority

Alice Horgan, Sunnova
Andrew Hughes, Scale Microgrids Solutions

John Linfoot, Lunar Energy

12:00 PM - C&I Siting Challenges and Strategies

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Restrictive local laws make siting one of the most significant barriers to clean energy deployment in New York and around the nation, rivaled only by interconnection and hosting capacity limitations. New York is a home rule state, and NYSEIA estimates that restrictive local laws are preventing up to 4.6 gigawatts of otherwise viable distributed solar from being deployed in areas with available hosting capacity. At the same time, community-scale solar and storage projects are being deployed more rapidly than large-scale renewables, and companies are increasingly seeking to address siting concerns through beneficial siting practices that provide community co-benefits, including brownfield conversion and agrivoltaics. Join this panel to learn how siting is impacting New York’s clean energy progress and what the industry and innovative solar companies are doing to proactively address the issue.

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Moderated by:

Jonathan Cohen, NYSEIA

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Speakers:

Douglas Warden, Snyder & Snyder
Annika Colston, AC Power
Michelle Piasecki, Harris Beach
Michael Fingar, US Light Energy

 

12:45 PM - Networking Lunch

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1:45 PM - Emerging Trends in the Solar Workforce

                (Sponsored by New York State Laborers' PAC) 

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A tight labor market, new prevailing wage requirements and continued market growth makes workforce development a critical issue for the solar industry. Join this session to learn about emerging trends in the solar workforce, and new labor requirements from leading solar companies, workforce agencies, and the New York Department of Labor.

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Moderated by:

Noah Ginsburg, NYSEIA

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Speakers:

Shaun K. McCready, New York Department of Labor
Harrison Watkins, New York State Laborers’ Organization
Shakira Hart, Solar One
Elizabeth (Liz) Driscoll, Carson Power
Stephen Foley, Sunrise Power Solutions

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2:30 PM - Navigating New York's Interconnection Evolution

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As New York’s distributed solar + storage industry matures, available grid hosting capacity for new solar and energy storage projects is increasingly difficult to find. Join this panel for a discussion among leading experts regarding the challenges industry and the utilities face today, as well as the possible solutions, including interconnection reform, grid planning processes that account for and support distributed generation, and creative incentive structures to ensure New York is on track to achieve a 70% renewable grid by 2030.

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Moderated by:

Bill Acker, NY-BEST

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Speakers:

Schuyler Matteson, DPS
Ed Brolin, RWE

Casey Kirkpatrick, National Grid

Kavita Ravi, Bluewave

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3:15 PM - Networking Break

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3:45 PM - Community Solar Models to Expand Access

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New York is continuing to innovate and adapt its nation-leading community solar program. The state is actively implementing or considering new utility crediting mechanisms, incentives, and models to deliver bill savings to renters and low-income New Yorkers that can’t otherwise participate in and benefit from clean energy. Join this panel for a lively discussion about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats on the horizon as New York plans for the next chapter of its community solar programs.

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Moderated by:

Kate Daniel, CCSA

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Speakers:

Aviv Shalgi, Solar Simplified
Austin Perea, Arcadia
Jason Small, National Grid

Sam Jasinski, New Leaf Energy

Sara Jayanthi, NYSERDA

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4:30 PM - NY Solar + Storage Policy Update from the PSC

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Jessica Waldorf, Chief of Staff, NYS Department of Public Service

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4:45 PM - Afternoon Address from NY Senator Harckham

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Senator Pete Harckham, New York State Senator, 40th Senate District

Chairman of Committee on Environmental Conservation

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5:10 PM - Closing Remarks

5:15 PM to 7 PM - Networking Reception After Party Sponsored by Carson Power

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Meeting Room 2A

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11:15 AM - Where do we stand on Real Property Tax Law §575-b and PILOTs?

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Speakers:

Dan Spitzer, Hodsgon Russ
Emanuela (Amy) D'Ambrogio, Hodsgon Russ

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11:40 AM - Tools to Scale your Solar Business in a Dynamic Market

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Speakers

Artie Perri,  Greentech Renewables

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12:00 PM - Residential Solar: Challenges and Opportunities

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In 2022, New York set a record for new residential solar capacity reservation and deployment. This year, New York’s residential solar market is on track for another record-setting year. But don’t let the stable topline growth fool you; there are shifting currents beneath the surface, including rising interest rates, new federal tax incentives that favor third-party ownership, electric rate design reform on Long Island, and a pending Energy Storage Roadmap that promises to increase energy storage attachment rates. Join this panel for a lively discussion among residential solar market leaders about the significant challenges and opportunities in New York’s rapidly evolving solar market.

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Moderated by:

Lindsay Griffin, Vote Solar

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Speakers:

Bartlett Jackson, Sunrun
Bronte Payne, SunPower

Nick Russo, Greentech CED

Reid Garton, New York State Solar

Zohar Gorgel, Rhino Eco

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1:45 PM - Innovation at the Nexus of Agriculture and Solar

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Every day, the United States loses an estimated 2,000 acres of farmland, primarily to low-density residential development and urban sprawl. Achieving New York's clean energy goals will require a massive increase in solar deployment, including ground-mounted solar projects. How can New York deploy solar rapidly and cost-effectively while minimizing impacts on agricultural land? Can traditional solar and dual-use agrivoltaics projects be tools for farmland retention? What policies and programs could New York adopt to support agrivoltaics and beneficial siting practices within the solar industry? Join leading experts for a lively discussion about challenges, opportunities and lessons learned from pilot projects in the rapidly advancing field of agrivoltaics.

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Moderated by:

Valessa Souter-Kline, SEIA

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Speakers:

Jesse Robertson-DuBois, BlueWave
Kyle McAdam, LightStar
Ethan Winter, American Farmland Trust

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2:30 PM - Onsite C&I Solar + Storage: Challenges and Opportunities

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New York's solar market is dominated by residential and community solar. However, New York has a large base of commercial and industrial businesses, many of whom are well-suited for onsite solar + energy storage systems. This segment of the market has been largely untapped, and arguably, under-served. Join leading C&I solar + storage developers, real estate professionals and policy experts for a discussion about what it will take to bring New York's industrial business community off the sidelines of our clean energy transition.

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Moderated by:

Dan Montante, Montante Solar

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Speakers:

Greg Randolph, New York Green Bank 
Dennis Phayre, PowerFlex

Kevin Schulte, GreenSpark Solar

Greg Randolph, NY Green Bank

Jackie Bruce, DSD Renewables

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3:45 PM - Foundational Research on PV Siting and Flexible Interconnection

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Dr. Richard Perez, Senior Research Faculty Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, UAlbany
PV siting and interconnection are among the most pressing issues facing New York's solar industry today. Join Dr. Richard Perez, a preeminent solar photovoltaic researcher and atmospheric scientist, for a riveting presentation of his research and findings on these topics over the last 20+ years, including key findings from his 2019 paper titled Overbuilding & curtailment: The cost-effective enablers of firm PV generation, and the ongoing activities of the firm PV power task force he leads with the International Energy Agency.

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Capitol Room 

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12:00 PM - REC Solar: Technical Presentation on Heterojunction Technology (HJT) PV

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Come learn about REC HJT modules, our yield advantages, how to sell against Mono Perc technology, and what REC has to offer in dealer sales support. Meet your Northeast REC representative in person at this training event.

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1:45 PM - HR Best Practices: Fostering a Positive and Inclusive Work Environment for Small Businesses

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Does your business or organization want to create greater DEl outcomes, but you're not sure where to start? What is diversity, equity and inclusion, how does it manifest in both our personal and professional lives and how can we get the conversation started at my workplace?

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This session will provide an introduction to some of the foundational topics and considerations important to starting a DEl journey. Participants will be presented with tools and resources that can aid in beginning to cultivate a more inclusive climate in the workplace. Learn more about these concepts, tips to get started and how to better understand ways in which DEl can be advanced within your business.

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The workshop includes: 

- A definition of introductory DEl terminology

- Key aspects to consider when beginning your DEl journey

- Examples of how these concepts manifest in and outside the workplace

- An understanding of the business case for DEl and how it adds value to your team and organization.

Speaker:

Jason Benitez, Vice President, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Capital Region Chamber of Commerce 

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