In chronological order, here are the conferences I am interested in following or covering in 2009. Given that visibility thing, I’m not making plans beyond PHOTON’s Technology Show.

As last year (Part 2 update), my focus remains technical conferences and business to business trade shows, not regional marketing or sales events. However, I am still considering smaller technical conferences in lieu of the larger mega events because of repetitive content. There is little location alignment among the eleven events although the San Francisco Bay area and Munich have two events each.

Concentrated Photovoltaics Summit 2009
February 3-4, 2009
San Diego, California USA

It’s already very late to attend this event, but I’ve had the courtesy ad button in my sidebar for almost two months. This Concentrator PhotoVoltaics (CPV) summit, “CPV goes commercial – how to build, maintain and run a profitable CPV plant”, has Expert Speakers and Agenda realized by First Conferences Ltd.

Fourth Annual Clean Technology and Renewables Conference
February 19, 2009
New York City, New York USA

This Piper Jaffray & Co. (NYSE:PJC) invitation only event is hosted by Sr. Research Analyst Jesse Pichel and team. Good luck snagging an invitation to this Piper client focused event. I didn’t even try to request one. Instead, I will investigate PV synergies with high-brightness LEDs at Strategies in Light held February 18– 20, 2009, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California USA.

PHOTON’s 4^th Photovoltaic Technology Show 2009 Europe (36 page Brochure)
March 4-6, 2009 (Conferences March 3-6, 2009)
Munich (München), Germany

While the Photovoltaic Technology Show headlines a photovoltaic production equipment exhibition, this show is a nexus for five distinct PHOTON EXPO conferences held in early March:

• 7^th Solar Silicon Conference – March 3, 2009
• 4^rd PV Production Equipment Conference (Part 1 – C-Si) – March 4, 2009
• 4^rd PV Production Equipment Conference (Part 2 – Thin film) – March 5, 2009
• 4^th PV Investors Conference – March 5, 2009
• 2^nd Solar Electric Utility Conference – March 6, 2009

I enjoyed PHOTON‘s Searching for the »Second Solar« Conference Series USA in December. This conference had a fresh feel compared to otherwise stale and repetitive messages over the 2008 conference trail. After missing PHOTON’s Photovoltaic Technology Show Europe 2008 because of the GUNTHER Portfolio Hiatus auto accident, there is a destiny quality to attending this year. Sorry for the melodrama.

Clean Tech Open
California Clean Tech Open 2009 Competition
San Francisco / Silicon Valley, California USA

Per the Events – California Clean Tech Open 2009 Competition page, the Launch Event will be on March 19, 2009, although the location has not been disclosed. The competition continues through October culminating with the October 27, 2009 – Awards Gala.

Intersolar 2009
May 27-29, 2009 (5th PV Industry Forum 2009 May 25-26, 2009)
Munich (München), Germany

Intersolar returns to the New Munich Trade Fair Centre for a second year. Almost 52000 visitors from 140 countries explored 1050 exhibitors spread across the 76000 square meter Intersolar 2008 Exhibition. Intersolar 2009 expands the exhibition space to almost 100000 square meters in nine exhibit halls. Perhaps bicycle rentals should be offered?

A two day Draft Program 2009 for the PV Industry Forum is available. In addition, the Conference Program has the complete conference schedule from May 25-28, 2009.

34th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 34)
June 7-12, 2009
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

The schedule for PVSC 34 was accelerated to occur one year after PVSC 33. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has partnered with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) to enhance PVSC 34 with PV America June 8-10, 2009. This includes an enlarged exhibition and a sketchy PV America – Schedule-at-a-Glance! conference.

SEMICON West 2009 / Intersolar North America 2009
July 14-16, 2009 Exhibition
San Francisco, California USA

There are scant details about the second year of this event. The Welcome page claims:

Intersolar North America (NA) 2009 features double the floor space, which will house the expected 400 exhibitors and 15,000 trade visitors in Moscone Center West. The conference will also increase its size and program to accommodate the 1,600 expected attendees.

Will any significant products be launched here for the US market instead of Solar Power International?

24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition
September 21-25, 2009
Hamburg, Germany

Of course, the 24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) continues as my must cover conference selection and sentimental favorite for 2009. Although Valencia was spoiled by my baggage travails with Iberia Airlines, I look forward to a budget friendlier conference in Hamburg. And it is not held during the US Labor Day holiday in 2009.

With a comprehensive technical conference program, the 6th EPIA European PV Industry Forum, and a further expanded trade exhibition, this is the best annual technical and business to business solar conference and exhibition (period)! Per “Press Release 30th January 2009”, the “Exhibition area largely surpasses previous year event” with 65000 square meters versus 50000 in Valencia. I thought the Valencia Exhibition was plenty big.

Solar Power International 09
October 27-29, 2009
Anaheim, California USA

Solar Power International (SPI) has established itself as the premiere US solar business to business event attracting almost 18000 registered attendees plus more than 5700 visitors during the Public Night in 2008. I was expecting this to be an inexpensive event until the location was changed from San Jose to Anaheim. I imagine southern California requires intense education about the merits of solar.

22nd NREL Industry Growth Forum
Fall 2009 (specific date and hotel not announced)
Denver, Colorado USA

This is the original renewable energy business plan competition. As last year, the NREL team has not yet set the exact dates. New information will be posted to the www.cleanenergyforum.com website when finalized. I posted Solar start-up Ampulse wins Best Early Seed Investment Award at the 21st NREL Industry Growth Forum about the 2008 event. The 21st NREL Forum Proceedings are available.

10th Forum Solarpraxis
November 19-20, 2009
Berlin, Germany

The 10th Forum Solarpraxis (Deutsch) will again be the week before the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the United States. Here is the announcement in English und Deutsch.

I’ve requested information about PVSEC18, the 18th International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference & Exhibition, concluding on January 23, 2009, in Kolkata, India. Alas, the conference organizers have not even acknowledged my requests.

©2010 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

Gala Prizes and Awards Galore plus CTO Regional Expansion

Focal Point Energy is the 2008 Renewables Prize Winner with a “Solar Hot Water and Steam Generation for Industrial Applications” system.

The California Clean Tech Open (CCTO) third annual gala awards ceremony returned to the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco last Thursday, November 6, 2008. 43 finalists (44 were announced in “Clean Tech Open Announces 2008 California Competition Finalists”) selected from over 100 original contestants vied for category “Start-Up in a Box” Prize Packages worth $100,000.

Here are the prize winners in my own order along with presentation and acceptance speech videos.

Renewables Prize
Focal Point Energy – 2008 Winner
Renewable Fuel Technologies – 2008 Runner up

Green Building Prize
BottleStone – 2008 Winner
GroundSource Geo – 2008 Runner up
Solar Red – 2008 Runner up

Air, Water & Waste Prize
Over the Moon Diapers – 2008 Winner
Porifera – 2008 Runner up

Smart Power Prize
Power Assure – 2008 Winner
Energy Empowered – 2008 Runner up

Energy Efficiency Prize
Viridis Earth – 2008 Winner
NexChem – 2008 Runner up

Transportation Prize
ElectraDrive – 2008 Winner
Goose Networks – 2008 Runner up

In addition to the six category winners of 2008 CCTO Prizes, the following special Awards were also presented.

Alumni Award
Nila Inc. – 2008 Winner
Syncromatics – 2008 Runner up

Sustainability Award
GroundSource Geo
Power Assure

Green Catalyst Awards
The Green Catalyst Award honored “Angels that really provided the first funding to get the competition off the ground,” said Michael Santullo.

Mark Farley
Derry and Charlene Kabcenell
Wynnette LaBrosse
Frank Levinson (Forbes 400)
Geoff Ralston

A certain Michael and Amy Santullo are also among the charter funders of the competition.

Mentor Award
Bruce Schechter
Mr. Schechter was selected from over 150 mentors guiding the 2008 CCTO finalists and mentored 2007 Transportation Category Winner Syncromatics.

Volunteer Award
Cindi Choi
The Mentor Guidelines & Judging Process is explained in the YouTube video, CTO Judging Criteria by Cindi Choi.

Sifting through the 2008 Awards Gala and Directory of Finalists, I found seven (7) companies with Photovoltaic or Solar related technologies:

Covalent Solar
Solindis (had an empty desktop display exhibit)
Focal Point Energy
Transoptic
Solar Red
Solar Ice
AAA Fleets aka AAraya

I expect to revisit some of these companies in follow up posts.

Next year, the first regional expansion of the Clean Tech Open (CTO) will begin in Sping 2009 with the Rocky Mountain Clean Tech Open Competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). I recognized a few NREL Industry Growth Forum organizers among the Colorado contingent present at the awards gala.

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In COOL EARTH SOLAR CLOSES $21 MILLION SERIES A FINANCING, Cool Earth Solar (CES, http://www.coolearthsolar.com) announced the initial closing of a $21 million Series A round of financing today on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2008. Cool Earth Solar stated additional closings of this round may occur over the next 60 days.

Cool Earth Solar has developed a proprietary Concentrated PhotoVoltaic (CPV) technology that the company claims will achieve radical reductions in the material cost and weight of CPV versus competing high concentration photovoltaic systems. Furthermore, Cool Earth Solar will use their CPV technology to develop, build, and own solar power plants that can compete with conventional fossil fuel fired power plants.

Photo Credit: Cool Earth Solar

Dr. Eric Cummings, founder of Cool Earth Solar said:

Our goal from the very start was to find a clean energy generation solution that could address the global scale of the carbon problem. We discarded everything that couldn’t scale, relied on rare components, or had some other critical bottleneck. Ultimately, we developed a novel technology which radically reduces the amount of material in our system and balances labor and capital costs.

And Cool Earth Solar Chief Executive Officer, Rob Lamkin said:

Cool Earth Solar power plants will produce electricity at a cost lower than natural gas-fueled plants. Our innovative solar technology delivers economically as well as environmentally. We will apply the funding towards expanding our team, developing our technology, and building our state-of-the-art solar power plants. We are actively seeking exceptional engineers, scientists, and manufacturing designers.

Please see the label Cool Earth Solar for previous posts about the company.

The California Clean Tech Open (CCTO) released the following information about CES two days early in the Tuesday, February 12, 2008, California Clean Tech Open Newsletter:

CoolEarth, a 2006 Runner-Up of the Renewables Prize, inks deal for $21 million in private funding.
CoolEarth Solar, our 2006 runner-up for the California Investor Owned Utilities Renewable Prize (PG&E, SDG&E and SCE) has engineered a cost efficient solar power plant that competes economically with conventional fuels. Their new technology combines traditional photovoltaics with a new inflatable concentrator. The mirror concentrator is unique because it uses inflatable mirrors that are 400 times cheaper than polished aluminum mirrors. CCTO Founding Partner Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati assisted CoolEarth in closing the round.
www.coolearthsolar.com

The third annual 2008 California Clean Tech Open Launch will occur on April Fool’s Day, April 1, 2008, at the San Jose City Hall located in downtown San Jose, California USA. Details on the event hosted by San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed will be posted in early March 2008 to the CCTO website, www.cacleantech.com.

While I cannot confirm this, I heard from a confidential source the animated video titled Inflatable Solar Collectors on YouTube (or see Solar Light Flashes: July 22, 2007) was developed independent of Cool Earth Solar by a solar enthusiast at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), a Lucasfilm Ltd. company.

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In chronological order, here are the conferences I am interested in covering or following in 2008. The schedule is packed with three new conferences and events versus last year, and my focus remains technical conferences and business to business trade shows, not regional marketing or sales events. Location alignment results in two events each for San Francisco, San Diego, and Munich.

Concentrated Solar Power USA
January 28-29, 2008
San Francisco, California USA

As I mentioned in Photovoltaics: 2007 Post Review and 2008 Trends to Watch – Part 2, Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) is the hottest solar power segment. Second in a series, the Event Overview is titled:

How to build – and run – a profitable Concentrated Solar Power plant
Everything you need to know to turn your CSP project into reality

This looks like the perfect event to smarten up on CSP and network with Who’s Attending.

Clean Technology & Renewables Conference
February 20, 2008
New York City, New York USA

This Piper Jaffray & Co. (NYSE:PJC) invitation only event caught my attention last year with Solaria spills low concentration photovoltaic technology at Symposium. With Sr. Research Analyst Jesse Pichel and team doing great Photovoltaic (PV) Industry research, this is one of the best investor conferences to attend =if= you can wrangle an invite.

Concentrated Photovoltaic Summit ‘08
April 1-2, 2008
Madrid, Spain

This Concentrator PhotoVoltaics (CPV) summit, “CPV goes commercial – how to build, maintain and run a profitable CPV plant”, has an impressive speaker list and is realized by First Conferences Ltd. who are also the folks behind the above mentioned Concentrated Solar Power USA. However, the timing conflicts with…

Photovoltaic Technology Show 2008 Europe
April 2-4, 2008 (Conferences April 1-4, 2008)
Munich (München), Germany

While the Photovoltaic Technology Show is a photovoltaic production equipment exhibition, this show is a nexus for four distinct PHOTON EXPO conferences held during the first four (4) days of April:

6^th Solar Silicon Conference – April 1, 2008
3^rd PV Production Equipment Conference – April 2, 2008
3^rd PV Investors Conference – April 3, 2008
2^nd PV Glass Conference – April 4, 2008

The sister Photovoltaic Technology Show 2008 Asia event is being held this week on January 16-18, 2008, in Shenzhen, China, with the same four (4) day conference schedule from January 15-18, 2008, including the debut of the PV Glass Conference. PHOTON claims the 5^th Solar Silicon Conference in Shenzhen will cover “Chinese and Eastern European projects” while Munich’s 6^th Solar Silicon Conference will focus on established industry leaders.

33rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 33)
May 11-16, 2008
San Diego, California USA

This conference could create some US based competition for the 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC).

Intersolar 2008
June 12-14, 2008 (PV Industry Forum 2008 June 10-11, 2008)
Munich (München), Germany

In order to expand, this year Intersolar moves from Freiburg im Breisgau to the New Munich Trade Fair Centre. Per Quantum Leap for Intersolar Trade Fair, this big trade fair goes huge with an over 80% increase in exhibition area. The Solar Promotion sponsored PV Industry Forum expands to cover the two days before Intersolar 2008 opens.

SEMICON West 2008 / Intersolar North America 2008
July 15-17, 2008 Exhibition
San Francisco, California USA

Please see Intersolar North America 2008 for my write up on this new event. The SEMICON West conference program and events run from July 14-18, 2008.

23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition
September 1-5, 2008
Valencia, Spain

The 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition continues as my must cover conference selection for 2008. With the comprehensive conference program, EPIA’s 5th European PV Industry Forum, and the expanded trade exhibition, this is the best annual technical and business to business solar conference and exhibition.

Solar Power 2008
October 13-16, 2008
San Diego, California USA

The Solar Power Conference and Expo has established itself as the premiere US solar business to business event attracting well over 10,000 visitors in 2007. Intersolar North America 2008 will look to mount a challenge to this position.

21st NREL Industry Growth Forum
Fall 2008 (specific date not announced)
USA (location not announced)

A great two day conference about technologies the latest solar startups are developing for commercialization and pitching to venture capitalists and investors.There was dearth of NREL Forum press coverage in 2007 despite the rising interest in renewable energy technologies. Although I did not attend, I managed to post Wakonda Technologies wins at the 20th NREL Industry Growth Forum. NREL’s 20th Industry Growth Forum Presentations are available here.

9. Forum Solarpraxis
November 2008
Berlin, Germany

I had a productive 8. Forum Solarpraxis leading to the post, Solarvalue AG Analyst Conference at the 8. Forum Solarpraxis, and the impromptu site visit In Search of Nanosolar GmbH.

Honorable mention:
PV TECH MILANO 2008
November 25-28, 2008
Milan, Italy

The 5th INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION ON THE PHOTOVOLTAIC INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGIES lands in the Fiera Milano. Although this exhibition may have a regional focus, it is hard to ignore a photovoltaic production equipment trade fair.

Of course, I plan to cover the 2008 California Clean Tech Open (CCTO), and I await details on the event schedule and the regional expansion plans for the competition.

I decided to skip the 2008 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) from January 7-10, 2008, in Las Vegas, Nevada USA. Instead of the CES consolation prize, I will be attending the Macworld Conference & Expo tomorrow. I’m not sure there will be anything solar, but I will keep my eyes open.

©2010 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

1-Solar, Inc. (http://1-solar.com/) CEO Tranh Nguyen was able to take a few minutes out of his busy schedule meeting with Venture Capitalists (VCs), investors, and customers to discuss his 2007 California Clean Tech Open (CCTO) Renewables Award winning company.

First, Mr. Nguyen said the following about the 1-Solar inverter design:

The main reason for the small size, reduced weight, and long life of our 1-Solar inverter design is our patent-pending Push-Push™ inverter topology. This Push-Push topology converts DC (Direct Current) to AC (Alternating Current) in a single step compared to the two steps required in conventional High Frequency (HF) inverters.

Current flows from the input to the output through only three (3) semiconductor devices instead of the six (6) devices used in conventional HF inverters. We modulate the voltage according to a sine wave at high frequency by using a small transformer size with very low modulation losses. Our design eliminates the need for an intermediate high voltage DC bus and its associated storage capacitors thus increasing reliability.

The control circuit for the inverter uses a small Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) yet it is re-usable for Push-Push inverters designed for various power ratings.

Here is Mr. Nguyen’s Bio from the 1-Solar business plan submitted for the 2007 CCTO:

Tranh Nguyen, Founder and CEO. Mr. Nguyen has been involved in power systems, power supplies, and general power electronics for the last 25 years. Prior to 1-Solar, he founded Nphysics/NuForce Inc., of which he was Chairman/CTO. His NuForce Reference 9 amplifier received the 2006 “Amplifier of the Year” and “Product of the Year” awards from audiophile magazines. Mr. Nguyen received his MSEE (Master of Science in Electrical Engineering) from Faculty Polytechnic of Mons Belgium (Faculté Polytechnique de Mons), and his MBA (Master of Business Administration) from Golden Gate University. He holds 7 US patents, and many more pending.

• Chief Electronics Engineer of an aerospace company, [chief designer of the power system for the Tomahawk Cruise Missile]
• Engineering manager of Power Supply Dept of a division of Harris Corp.

When asked about 1-Solar funding requirements, Mr. Nguyen said:

Our funding is coming along as usual. Our aerospace background helps us design long life inverters but our new topology is the key factor to their long life.

Tranh Nguyen (seated) with Casey Ng and Jason Lim

By googling the keywords Tranh amplifier, many reviews of Mr. Nguyen’s award-winning audiophile Class-D amplifiers will be found. Mr. Nguyen mentioned that Class-D amplifiers and inverters are cousins.

Based in Rohnert Park, California USA, the 1-Solar website landing page features a pair of high impact videos from the 2007 California Clean Tech Open Final Awards Event Gala by a certain progressive Photovoltaic Blogger.

©2010 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

1-Solar wins Renewables Prize
GreenVolts, Inc. announces $10 Million Series A Funding

The Academy Awards of Clean Tech, aka the Awards Ceremony for the 2007 CALIFORNIA CLEAN TECH OPEN, took place last night on Monday, October 29, 2007, at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco, California USA.

In the Renewables Category, 1-Solar was the winner of the Renewables Prize (one of six CCTO Category prizes) and Tahoe Water Systems was the runner up.

1-Solar, Inc. claims to have halved the cost and doubled the life of DC to AC inverters for solar photovoltaic system applications. 1-Solar’s President Tranh Nguyen makes his acceptance speech in the following video clip and said:

Our invertors are designed to last 15 years or more.

The short product life of inverters is one of the dirty little secrets of photovoltaics.

GreenVolts’ $10 Million Series A round of funding was led by Greenlight Energy Resources, Inc., Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA), and several other investors.

Per GreenVolts:

… its CarouSol tracking system has begun producing energy at Avista¹s Clean Energy Test Site, and that it is on track for deployment of its GV1 plant in late 2008.

See GreenVolts scores Solar Project and Investment from Avista for more details on the demonstration High Concentration PhotoVoltaics (HCPV) project located in Rathdrum, Idaho.

The official press release should be here on the GreenVolts website in the morning.

To honor all the 2007 California Clean Tech Open (CCTO) Finalists, here is a link to the Finalist Directory or Download 2007 Finalist Directory.

©2010 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

[Redwood City, California USA]

CCTO 2007 Alumni Award won by GreenVolts

GreenVolts, Inc. founder and CEO Bob Cart delivered a crisp company Utility Scale Solar presentation on Wednesday, October 24, 2007, at the Dow Jones VentureWire Alternative Energy Innovations 2007 conference in Redwood City, California.

In a succinct summary of the GreenVolts business model, Mr. Cart said:

We sell energy not solar panels.

GreenVolts and PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) entered into a 20 year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the GV1 High Concentration PhotoVoltaic (HCPV) power plant as I reported in GreenVolts does it again with 2MW Solar Electric Plant deal with PG&E (revised to 2.5MWp) or see the press release, PG&E Adds Utility-Scale Solar Projects to Its Power Mix.

As I have been covering developments at GreenVolts since Solar Power 2006, I will focus on the deltas or what was new in this presentation.

GreenVolts does their own Research and Development (R&D) leveraging contract manufacturers to build their Off-Axis Microdish power units and two-axis tracking platform trademarked the CarouSol™ system. GreenVolts marketing and sales efforts serve two primary channels: 10-20MWp (MegaWatt-peak) direct utility customers and 1-10MWp project partner developers such as MMA Renewable Ventures, SunEdison LLC, or Chevron Energy Solutions for example.

The CarouSol tracker was billed as 3kWp (kiloWatt-peak) again like it was prior to GreenVolts Concentrates PhotoVoltaics in San Francisco. In addition, the CarouSol was positioned as self cleaning, self stowing, easy to install, and achieving the highest energy density compared to the competition.

The integrated self cleaning system utilizes a high pressure air blast and a small amount of water to keep the mirrors dust free. Accumulated dust on the mirrors can reduce the electricity production by about 15%. At night or during high wind conditions, the CarouSol will stow the power units by tipping them downward.

At 2.5 feet (0.76 meters) tall and 19 feet (5.79 meters) in diameter, the modular and light weight CarouSol was touted as simple to install because cranes or ladders are not required and poured concrete isn’t necessary for anchoring. Also, retrofit rooftop applications do not require roof penetration for mounting.

In a revelation regarding energy density, GreenVolts claimed the CarouSol system delivers almost two (2) times the power per unit area measured in MegaWatt-hours (MWh) per acre versus the one-axis SunPower (PowerLight) T20 Tracker and two and one-half (2.5) times the SolFocus HCPV solution at lower cost per kiloWatt-hour (kWh) generated.

GreenVolts is constructing a single shift 12MWp annual capacity pilot production line now with plans to scale to 60MWp by 2010. The pilot line will be used to perfect a copy exact approach for future expansions.

In closing, Bob Cart mentioned data from field testing showed promising results though it was from a brief two month period.

While a number of questions concerned the self cleaning system (cold weather and water in arid, desert locations), Mr. Cart did not tip any vendors for III-V Triple Junction Terrestrial Solar Cells or power plant scale invertors although he did say GV1 will use 500kW sized invertors reducing the potential supplier candidates.

Per the CCTO press release, California Clean Tech Open Awards Event San Francisco October 29, 2007:

A special CCTO “Alumni” award will be presented on October 29th to the 2006 finalist that has made most progress since last year’s awards event in te
rms of investment funding or significant customer wins.

The 2007 Alumni Award will be presented to GreenVolts, a solar startup based in San Francisco. After winning the Renewables prize at the 2006 CCTO, GreenVolts has made enormous progress, recently signing an agreement with PG&E for a two megawatt HCPV (high concentration photovoltaic) power plant that, when completed, will be the largest in the world. To add to this, the company will be making a major announcement at Monday’s event.

What could the major announcement from GreenVolts be? Could there be a new customer or round of venture capital funding? Towards the end of his presentation, Mr. Cart hinted GreenVolts will have an announcement regarding the later real soon. It would appear the timing will coincide with the CCTO Awards Ceremony.

For my previous GreenVolts Blog posts, click the Topic label GreenVolts.

I know GUNTHER Portfolio is our special secret, but, please, share it with a friend or colleague.

©2010 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

In this year’s California Clean Tech Open (CCTO), 50 finalist teams were selected from a field of 120 entries. The finalists were announced via email after today’s (July 26, 2007) Green Building Innovators Symposium held at Google building 1500. This event was sponsored and hosted by Google.

Criteria used in the judging of entrants are explained at how the 2007 Finalists Have Been Selected.

By my counts, the category finalists were distributed as follows:

nine (9) in Air, Water & Waste,
eight (8) in Energy Efficiency,
eight (8) in Green Building,
nine (9) in Renewables,
six (6) in Smart Power,
and ten (10) in the Transportation Category.

Alas, the team I was invited to join did not make the finals. For the curious, my team’s entry was not in the Renewables category and had nothing to do with Photovoltaics. I look forward to reporting on future developments at the 2007 California Clean Tech Open competition as press without the embed angle.

Thanks to all of this year’s CCTO Volunteers.

©2010 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

Avista makes strategic investment in GreenVolts

Avista Corporation (NYSE:AVA) has chosen GreenVolts for a demonstration High Concentration PhotoVoltaics (HCPV) project. The official press release is Avista Chooses GreenVolts for Utility Scale Solar Trial. Although this news was tipped in the Business 2.0 Magazine article, Big Solar’s day in the sun, the strategic investment by Avista in GreenVolts for an undisclosed amount is new.

This summer, GreenVolts will site their solar electric solution at Avista’s Clean Energy Test Site located in Rathdrum, Idaho per Solar test plant planned for Rathdrum and just across the border from Spokane, Washington. In order to validate long term system performance and economics, this demonstration project will collect actual performance data over a period of two years.

In the same article, Ecolite Manufacturing Co. said it will produce the systems for GreenVolts, and the Avista project will be sized at about 2.4kWp (kiloWatt- peak) perhaps adjusted for Idaho’s insolation? Per Ed Caferro, CEO of Ecolite and an investor in GreenVolts:

Bids are out for several megawatts’ worth of the systems, and Caferro expects to make about 400 monthly in about a year.

Here are some exclusive photos courtesy of GreenVolts showing a prototype CarouSol and an Off-Axis Microdish power cell.

GreenVolts has excelled at refining their message and positioning since last year’s California Clean Tech Open (CCTO) and the 19th NREL Industry Growth Forum:

GreenVolts is a solar power company providing affordable, clean energy alternatives for utility companies. The company’s patent-pending technology produces a superior photovoltaic collector that, when coupled with a tracking mechanism, is expected to deliver energy at a cost that is competitive with peak natural gas alternatives. The size and flexibility of the company’s system allow it to be placed nearer to the demand than other alternatives, helping utility companies avoid constructing costly transmission lines or having to upgrade existing power grids.

You can tap into my daisy chain of posts about GreenVolts by visiting the last one, GreenVolts CEO Bob Cart addresses California Clean Tech Open 2007 Kick-off Event, or by using the search label, GreenVolts.

This post is brought to you by the free unsecured Wifi network MICHANDY accessible from Haus Hiltl located here in Zürich, Switzerland. Hiltl just happens to be a cool place to hang out after finishing work or shopping. Finding free Wifi access in Zürich is no easy task, and I am looking forward to using the bluespot service (see bluespot offers free WiFi Internet access in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany) again this year at Intersolar 2007.

©2010 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

Closing Speakers headline the Event

Even though I took BART, I arrived late to the California Clean Tech Open 2007 launch event and missed the Welcome Introductions and opening speakers.

But first, there are six clean tech categories in the competition: Air, Water & Waste, Energy Efficiency, Green Building, Renewables, Smart Power, and Transportation. The California Clean Tech Open (CCTO) winner in each category will receive a “Start-Up In A Box” Prize Package worth $100,000: $50,000 in cash from the category prize sponsor and an additional $50,000 worth of sponsor donated office space and professional services.

The timeline for the CCTO business plan competition is as follows:

June 4, 2007	Technology and Entrepreneur Matching Event
June 14, 2007	Executive Summary Workshop for Applicants
June 30, 2007	Application Submissions Deadline
June – August 2007	Innovators’ Symposia and other Sponsor Events
July 26, 2007	First Round Judging – Finalist Teams Announced
August – September 2007	Clean Tech Entrepreneur Summer Workshop Series and Mentoring Services
September 19, 2007	Submit Business Plan and Presentation Deadline
October 1-8, 2007	Live Presentation to Judging Panel
October 30, 2007?	2007 Competition Awards Ceremony (tentative date)

If you are interested in entering the Competition, please visit How To Enter The Competition to register and understand the competition process. In 2006, 47 finalist teams were selected from 156 business plan entrants for an intensive mentoring boot camp preparing them to present their business plans to the CCTO Judging Panel. The CCTO 2006 Competition Report has all the details about last year. My wild guess is the number of entrants in the CCTO competition will almost double to 300 this year. About 30 to 60 finalist teams will be selected from the Executive Summary submissions.

I found the panel discussion moderated by Kerry Dolan, Senior Editor, Forbes, to be a category prize sponsor showcase without any major revelations. By contrast, the Closing Speakers had practical advice and profound thoughts about the competition, business, clean tech, and energy policy.

The first was profiled in the post, GreenVolts CEO Bob Cart addresses California Clean Tech Open 2007 Kick-off Event.

Raj Atluru, Managing Director, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, shared Clean Tech words of wisdom from the venture capitalist viewpoint:

John Garamendi, Lieutenant Governor of California, focused on fundamental changes to our national Energy Policy as a critical driver for Clean Tech to prevent climate change. This is a decent political speech that avoids mentioning the The Governator (Governor Schwarzenegger) or the California Solar Initiative too much.

Garrett Hering, Associate Editor, PHOTON International, asked the Lieutenant Governor a question about the recent LA Times article, Rebate rule chills sales of solar (registration may be required), by Marc Lifsher, reporting:

Public Utilities Commission reports show a decline of 78% in rebate requests in the first three months of this year, compared with last year, and the solar installation industry says it is threatened with collapse across much of California.

It looks like California, New Jersey (NJCEP Spring 2007 CORE Program and Queues), and Ontario, Canada, (Mixed Reviews for Ontario’s Feed-in Tariff) all have problematic solar incentive programs though for different reasons.

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