Ravi Manghani, Director of Energy, Storage/GTM Research, addresses the crowd at Intersolar at Moscone West. Photo by Marcus Siu

SAN FRANCISCO, JULY 12, 2017 – Intersolar and ees North America, the solar and energy storage industries’ premier events dedicated to the North American market, today welcomed speakers, visitors and exhibitors to its tenth year in San Francisco. Over the course of the next three days, approximately 18,000 visitors from across the world will see the latest solar and energy storage innovations from more than 500 companies during the Intersolar and ees North America exhibitions. The co-located conferences, which began Monday, will feature in-depth commentary from more than 220 speakers, and provide expert insights into the challenges and opportunities facing the solar and storage industries.

With over 2 GW of new solar capacity installed in the first quarter of 2017 alone, the U.S. solar industry is continuing its record of strong growth. GTM Research forecasts an impressive 12.6 GW of new PV to be built by the end of the year. In front of a packed house of solar industry professionals, policymakers, and financiers, the speakers at this year’s keynote session detailed how to maintain this growth, and the importance of storage in bringing more renewable energy online.

Building on the energy in the room, Martin Keller, director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), discussed the importance of continued innovation in the solar sector. “We can grow the amount of solar currently online by linking new materials with new manufacturing technologies. We can get to 80 percent renewables in the US and we can continue to drive innovation.”

“The thing about our energy grid is that it is not only energy inefficient but it is financially inefficient,” said 2017 Champion of Change honoree Richard L. Kauffman. “There are ample opportunities for utilities to earn shared savings from improving efficiency, and solar and storage can help utilities realize its promise.”

San Francisco, CA – July 10 , 2017: Intersolar North America 2017. © Solar Promotion International GmbH

Throughout each keynote, speakers not only reflected on the advancements of the solar and energy storage industries over the past year, but also highlighted the tremendous amount of work yet to be done to fuel a clean energy future for all. In speaking of the recent wins for the solar industry in California, Bernadette del Chiaro, the executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA), described the strides the industry has made since the first Intersolar North America.

“It’s pretty amazing if you think about how much the solar industry has grown and changed in California over the past 10 years,” del Chiaro said. “Now, energy storage is basically at the same point as solar was 10 years ago, with a couple of initiatives to make energy as affordable and accessible for the emergence of PV market.”

Declining technology costs are one of the factors driving the market’s growth—with a 75 percent reduction in cost in the past decade, more price reductions are expected. The innovation and dedication that have reduced costs throughout the solar and energy storage industries are now shaping the way that policy makers consider energy efficiency programs and sustainability roadmaps for our American future.

Bernadette Del Chiaro, Executive Director of CALSEIA at the press conference at Moscone West. Photo by Marcus Siu.

“Each year, Intersolar and ees North America showcase the emerging technologies and latest trends impacting the growth of the solar and energy storage industries,” said Florian Wessendorf, and Daniel Strowitzki, Managing Directors of Intersolar North America, in a joint statement. “2017 is no exception, with a new solar finance conference track and an expanded energy storage exhibition hall giving attendees the inside scoop on these popular and rapidly evolving sectors. We know that the conversations that happen in our conference sessions and on the exhibition floor form the backbone of solar policy and technology development across the United States.”

“Intersolar is the place to be,” said Elena Lucas, keynote speaker, co-founder and director at UtilityAPI. “This is where you can network and meet the people who have the ideas to reduce soft costs of solar, customer acquisition costs.”