Solar power – scaling up

A survey of the solar market, a review of solar technology, a look at the investment and policy climate, and a forecast of what lies ahead.

Despite the economic downturn, the solar power market continues to grow at a phenomenal pace. This growth has drawn the attention of policy makers, Fortune 50 firms, investors, entrepreneurs, and consumers.

This presentation will examine how we got here, whether this growth is sustainable, and the technologies being brought to bear. The solar market will have to grow by orders of magnitude to make an appreciable contribution to our energy mix. Do we have the technical, financial, and human resources to make this happen? Will the surge in investment in this sector continue and what are the fates of the many start-ups in this field? Where are the innovations occurring in the solar market and what technologies will influence the growth of this market? This presentation will attempt to answer these questions and provide a market and technology forecast for the coming years.

Presenter(s)

Prior to joining Greentech Media, Eric Wesoff founded Sage Marketing Partners in 2000 to provide sales and marketing-consulting services to venture-capital firms and their portfolio companies in the alternative energy and telecommunications sectors. Mr. Wesoff has become a well-known, respected authority and speaker in these fields. He also was the publisher of the Venture Power newsletter, a subscription-only newsletter covering venture-capital investment in renewable energy.

Eric's expertise covers solar power, fuel cells, biofuels and advanced batteries. His strengths are in market research and analysis, business development and due diligence for investors. He frequently consults for energy startups and Silicon Valley's premier venture capitalists.

From 1988 to 1996, Eric served as product marketing manager for Siemens Optoelectronics, where he oversaw complex product lines and managed relationships with global customers. He then became the U.S. marketing and sales manager for Akzo Nobel Photonics, which was acquired by JDS Uniphase. Eric later served as the sales director for Dicon Fiber Optics, where he was responsible for selling millions of dollars of fiber-optic telecom-equipment. He has consulted for Merck, JDSU, Coherent, IBM and scores of other firms, governments and organizations.