The Opening Session features a panel of industry experts who will delve into common challenges and opportunities in the maturing field of solar operations and maintenance. Learn how value-optimizing innovation and steadfast reliability ensure performance at peak efficiency for your customers.

MODERATOR:
Evelyn Butler, Director, Codes and Standards, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)
Sarah Kurtz, Principal Scientist, NREL

SPEAKER:
Tom Starrs, Vice President, Market Strategy and Policy, SunPower

Speed Networking! Bring your business cards, and engage in one-on-one business conversations during this fast-paced break!

This session will address the challenges of non-standardized data in asset management, the complications that it presents, and examples of situations where standardized data would have provided more effective asset management. Additionally, the discussion will include a review of the U.S. DOE-funded SunShot initiative Orange Button, which “…supports the creation and adoption of industry-led open data standards for rapid and seamless data exchange across the solar value chain from origination to decommissioning. Standardizing data will allow for a reduction in soft costs by making it easier to share solar data and speeding up processes like financing. SunShot defines success of this program as the wide adoption of data standards by stakeholders representing at least 60% of the U.S. solar industry, in terms of deployed and distributed solar assets.”

From: http://energy.gov/eere/sunshot/orange-button-solar-bankability-data-advance-transactions-and-access-sb-data

MODERATOR:
Justin Baca, Vice President, Markets & Research, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

SPEAKERS:
Debbie Brodt-Giles, Digital Assets Supervisor, NREL
Joe Cunningham, Director of Operations, Sunny Energy
James Pagonis, Director, PowerHub
Michelle Savage, Vice President, Communications, XBRL

Curated lunch and learn presentations are unique and intimate presentations and discussions on the following topics:

1. The Other Green Industry: Vegetation Management Strategies for Utility-Scale Solar
   Brian Glenn, Director of Technical Services, Eynon Management
2. Asset Management: Good, Fast, or Cheap...Pick 2
   Christopher Grablutz, Director of Field Services, PV Pros
3. Why an Event-based Integrated Performance, Asset, and Commercial Management Software System is Needed for Optimizing the Economic Performance of a Solar Power Asset
   Steven Hanawalt, Executive Vice President, Power Factors
4. Operations, Maintenance, and Performance Best Practices
   Jock Patterson, Technical Sales Advisor, Fronius
5. Digital O&M by NEXTracker
   Rob Koch, Senior Vice President, Business Development, NEXTracker
6. Best Practices in Wire Management
   Nick Korth, Product Marketing Manager – Energies, HellermannTyton
7. Standardization of Plant Performance Metrics
   Don Cowan, Sales Manager, EDF Renewable Services
8. Best Practices in PV O&M: Guide, Cost Model, and Actuarial Data
   Travis Lowder, Energy Analyst, NREL
9. The Importance of Accurate Communications and Integrated Data Acquisition in Ensuring System Optimization in Solar O&M
   Bill Richardson, President, Bay4 Energy Services
10. Design for Maintenance: NEXTracker's Self-Powered Tracker Leading O&M
    Martin Rogers, Vice President Asset Management, NEXTracker
11. Using Enhanced Residential Solar Service Offerings to Increase Customer Satisfaction
    Greg Sellers, Vice President, Residential Fleet Services, SunSystem Technology
12. Cutting-edge Weather Intelligence to Optimize Solar Farm Operations and Maintenance
    Kevin Stenson, Energy Weather Sales Manager, Schneider Electric
13. Monitoring 2.0: Leveraging Cutting Edge Technology to Bring Innovation to PV Monitoring
    Beau Blumberg, Solution Director, infiswift
14. Evaluating and Adopting New Technologies and Processes: A Collaborative Effort Between Builders, Operators, Asset Managers, and Procurement Groups
    Chris Hinton, Solar Portfolio Manager, SEMPRA U.S. Gas & Power

This session will showcase five innovative, demonstrable, and repeatable ‘best practices’ to overcome common challenges found in the solar operations and maintenance space.

1. Thinking with the End in Mind: Linking PV Plant Design Considerations to O&M
   Nadav Enbar, Principal Project Manager, EPRI
2. Applying the N-1 Approach to Avoid Catastrophic Failure
   Bob Bellemare, Chief Financial Officer, Array Technologies
3. Why is Automated Root Cause Analysis Important?
   Laks Sampath, Country Manager USA & LATAM, Alectris, USA
4. Key Techniques to Avoid the Harsh Financial Impact of Undetected Yield Losses
   Anthony Conklin, President, Solar Data Systems, Inc.
5. Warranty Management Best Practices
   Jesse Royer, Customer Service Manager, Mortenson Energy Services

In-depth, interactive discussion to address updates to standards relating to rapid shutdown and smart inverters.

MODERATOR:
Evelyn Butler, Director, Codes and Standards, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

SPEAKERS:
Jason Fisher, Principal Compliance Engineer, Solar City
Mark Gies, Director of Sales and Products, Centroplan
Brett Henning, Product Manager, Commercial US Technology, SMA

Connecting asset managers with operations professionals to articulate the value of reconciling risk, quality, and value both up and down the operations and maintenance chain to promote understanding challenges asset managers face regarding reliability and performance.

MODERATOR:
John Balfour, President, Chief Technology and Applications Officer, High Performance PV

SPEAKERS:
Andrew deRussy, Renewable Generation Support Engineer, Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company
Rue Philips, Chief Executive Officer, 365-Pronto
Michael Roy, Principal Engineer, Hartford Steam Boiler