クリーンテクノロジ Kuriin Tekunoloji – Solar Goes Global

 

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the 40th annual conference of the American Solar Energy Society in Raleigh, NC on behalf of SJF Institute.  ASES, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing the use of solar energy, energy efficiency and other sustainable technologies in the U.S., focuses primarily on national and state-level policy around cleantech. However, conference attendees represented a broad swath of foreign nationals signaling the growing global solar movement.

Thursday’s plenary session on Advancements in Renewable Energy Technology featured Dr. James Lyons of Novus Energy Partners, Katherine Gensler of the Solar Energy Industries Association and Dr. Richard Swanson of SunPower Corporation. This panel of RE professionals urged constituent advocacy around solar energy policy through the ASES Solar Nation tour and direct appeals to Congressional representatives at the state level, providing a powerful reminder that grassroots letter writing campaigns to our Congressional representatives are often more effective than professional lobbying. This message resonates with U.S. residents, but perhaps failed to reach the portion of the audience representing Africa, South Korea and Brazil; folks who had traveled long distances to learn, eager to see their countries develop in a sustainable fashion. These international solar activists queued up at the microphone to question the panelists on how corporations are addressing the high costs of solar technology for the residential sector. Pointing to economies of scale, Dr. Swanson cited Germany as an experienced leader in distributing affordable solar technology to the residential sector from which we can all learn. He also commended new technologies, like ready-to-install Sun Pods – ground mount arrays that cut back on the costs of solar associated with site selection and rooftop installation. Overall, I found it to be a rousing plenary that called attention to the rising importance of designing and building cities and structures that are solar-friendly as all of our communities continues to develop.

International influences, however, weren’t limited to the plenary session. Many conference attendees hailed from Japan – business professionals eager to cut deals for this low-cost alternative to imported natural gas. The mere presence of these contingents highlighted the urgent demand for all forms of distributed power in post-tsunami Japan, with nuclear power plants across the nation going offline. ASES’ Seth Masia points to the many implications of solar energy markets for Japan and the potential for Japan to bolster world solar markets in an article “After Fukushima,”  appearing in the May issue of Solar Today. Masia writes, “The disasters in Japan may slow the steady decline in photovoltaic (PV) prices. Since January, the financial press has been forecasting a serious worldwide oversupply of PV modules beginning in late 2011, when the rate of installations … fails to soak up China’s purported capacity to make as much as 35 GW of new modules annually.” Masia further notes that Japan’s urgent energy needs will result in “Japan doubl[ing] its PV installations to help offset a 5-GW deficit in its grid” in 2012. Aware of this opportunity, Japanese conference attendees were both eager to make deals for access to new technology and to connect with experienced U.S. solar installers. I overheard animated conversations about U.S. crews traveling to Japan to train Japanese installers, providing new opportunities for U.S. installers and perhaps holding the potential for the rise of a green collar sector in Japan.

The ASES Conference was a great opportunity not only to get the inside scoop on the newest solar technologies but also to witness representatives from Japan and all over the globe coming together to explore renewable energy solutions. – Mia Farber, SJF Institute Summer Associate