ILLUMINATING SOLAR FINANCE
Shedding light on the essential elements of financing solar projects
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts
Pace University
One Pace Plaza
New York, NY 10038
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Scott Sklar
Scott Sklar runs his strategic marketing and policy firm, The Stella Group, Ltd, which he founded in 1995 and came on full-time to lead in 1999. The firm specializes on blending technologies and financing for projects, assisting companies to scale-up market penetration, and facilitate federal and state polices to expand markets. From May – August 2004, Sklar served as Interim Executive Director of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) assisting the industry in finding a new Executive Director and tracking policy and being their national spokesperson. Previously, Sklar served as Executive Director for 15 years of two national trade association concurrently, the Solar Energy Industries Association and the National BioEnergy Industries Association. He also cofounded and ran for three years the US export consortium of all the renewable energy trade associations, the US Export Council for Renewable Energy, and cofounded its sister energy efficiency entity where he served on its Board of the US Export Council for Energy Efficiency. Prior of running trade associations, Sklar was Political Director of The Solar Lobby for two years, -- a renewable energy advocacy group founded by the big nine US environmental organizations. And for three years previous to joining the advocacy organization, served as Washington Director for two years and Acting RD&D Director for one year of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), a federally-funded applied technology institution promoting renewables and energy efficiency for local communities both in the US and globally. Sklar started his energy career serving as a military and energy aide to Senator Jacob K Javits (NY) on his Washington personal and Committee staff for nine years, and cofounded the Congressional Solar caucus in the mid-1970’s where most of the renewable energy legislation first was passed by the US Congress as a result of the first and second oil embargos. Sklar has coauthored two books, “The Forbidden Fuel: A History of Power Alcohol, published in 1985, which is being updated and re-released in early 2007, and a “Consumer Guide to Solar Energy” first published in 1998 and is in its third publishing released in 2005. Scott lives in a solar home in Arlington, Virginia which has solar water heating, passive solar building features (including double-paned, argon-filled windows, LO/MIT thermal barrier paint in the attic, R40 insulation), energy efficient fixtures and appliances (such as Maytag Neptune washer), 1.2 kW of Solarex polycrystalline photovoltaics and 0.5 kW of UniSolar ‘peal-and-stick’ modules on a metal-seamed roof on the front porch, and a 24 gel cell battery bank tied to a Xantrex SWPlus inverter. The Stella Group's Virginia office building (behind the residence) has 1 kW of UniSolar photovoltaic roofing shingles, a 3.6 kW GridPoint smart battery bank, a 0.5 kW small wind turbine by Southwest Windpower, and has the first commercial lease of a 5 kW Plug Power fuel cell (running on recycled industrial hydrogen in canisters) tied to a dedicated Xantrex inverter. The Stella Group’s Washington, DC office is located in The Grange Building one block from The White House, which has 0.5 kW of UniSolar photovoltaic roofing shingles, and 1.0 kW of various modules from Isofoton (Spain), Schott Solar (MA), Shell Solar (CA), Spire Corp (MA).with a Xantrex SW Inverter and 4 deep cycle batteries. The system was funded, in part, by a grant from the DC Energy Office.
Daniel J. Garodnick
The author of New York City’s first Green Energy Code and the historic Tenant Protection Act, Dan Garodnick is a legislator committed to the critical issues for the East Side. Born and raised on the East Side of Manhattan, Dan was elected to the New York City Council on November 8, 2005. Garodnick was praised by the New York Times for his "independent streak," as well as for being a "champion of smarter redevelopment along the East River and a fighter for increased funding for the city's public school students." In his first year on the Council, Garodnick established himself as a leader in the fight for affordable housing, spearheading the $4.5 billion tenant-backed bid for the purchase of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village. His "creative problem solving" earned Garodnick a place on City Hall's list of "The Next Generation of Political Leaders in New York." Garodnick wrote the Green Energy Code to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in buildings across the city, and stood up for consumers’ rights by authoring the Livery Car Passenger Bill of Rights and the New York City Fair Debt Collection Act. Prior to entering public office, Garodnick practiced as a litigator at the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Garodnick also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Colleen McMahon of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Garodnick holds a J.D. from University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review, and a B.A. in Government from Dartmouth College. Garodnick grew up in a rent-stabilized apartment in the Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village community, and he lives in that neighborhood today with his wife, Zoe.
Izzet Bensusan
Izzet Bensusan is the founder and the executive director of Karbone. Throughout his career, he has been involved in entrepreneurial ventures focused on cutting edge economic sectors. As an early adopter and entrant in several ventures, he focuses on making significant and lasting difference on business sectors. To drive his vision around sustainability and energy conservation, at Karbone, he has built a company that is focused on defining the smartest ways to help companies adopt a comprehensive strategy to lower their emissions. He has brought together two key disciplines, technology and carbon finance allowing Karbone’s clients to take advantage of the many options available based on this unique approach. Mr. Bensusan is a regular speaker at emission market and sustainability conferences. He is also an active advocate of shaping policies aimed at the development of renewable energy and sustainable economies. Prior to Karbone, Mr. Bensusan was a partner at Net2s, a global consulting firm, where he built a division, on privacy and IT security, which became a leading practice servicing top global financial firms. He managed a team of over 100 consultants and engineers while focusing on the North American region. Before joining Net2s, Mr. Bensusan was one of the founding members of Parlo.com, which was the first online language-learning experience, taking advantage of the emerging Internet technologies. Mr. Bensusan holds an MBA from Columbia University and a BA/MA from Brandeis University in International Economics and Finance. He is also the co-founder of the entrepreneurs network at Brandeis University Alumni in New York.
Daniel J. Byrd
Dan is an independent consultant for renewable energy companies and investors, with a focus on policy, technology and environmental drivers. Dan was formerly a principal of GreenTech Research, a global investment firm for cleantech equities, where he analyzed a broad spectrum of clean technologies and companies. He was also an attorney at K&L Gates with the environment and climate change practice teams. Dan received his Master's in Env't Management from Yale and majored in Env't Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He held internships at EPA's Office of Regional Counsel and the United Nations Development Programme. He participated in the U.S. Forest Service's grizzly bear recovery program in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State under the Endangered Species Act and volunteered as an assistant game ranger in South Africa.
Stanley S. Fishbein
Stanley S. Fishbein, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), founder and president of CapQuest Group, LLC, has 28 years of experience in equipment leasing and commercial finance. He has held various management positions at ABN-Amro Bank, Chrysler Capital Corporation, Citibank, and Textron Financial Corporation. Mr. Fishbein was previously the president of Chrysler Capital Fund Management Corporation. His activities at these financial institutions included structuring and syndicating equipment leases and loans. As a result, Mr. Fishbein has strong relationships with decision makers at banks and finance companies nationwide. Mr. Fishbein's background, experience and industry relationships serve his clients well in satisfying their financing objectives. Mr. Fishbein was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar and started his professional career in 1976 in the tax department at Touche Ross & Co., CPA's. He holds Bachelor of Business Administration and Accounting degrees from The University of Massachusetts, a Juris Doctorate degree from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, and a Master of Laws degree in taxation from Boston University School of Law.
Amy Heinemann
Amy Heinemann is a policy analyst for the North Carolina Solar Center. Her work includes researching state, local and utility incentives and policies for the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE). Amy has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the George Washington University and Master of Environmental Management from Yale University. While at GWU, Amy worked with the Rapid Assessment Program at Conservation International. In graduate school, she spent a summer in Alaska working for the Sitka Conservation Society and Sitka Electric Department on energy conservation and efficiency. Amy’s past research interests focused on renewable energy development, climate change policy, and corporate sustainability. Amy joined the N.C. Solar Center in January 2009. She enjoys water polo, traveling, and spending time outdoors.
David Hill
David Hill is an energy planner with more than a decade of experience advocating for and developing energy efficiency and renewable energy programs and policies. He has extensive experience leading and managing teams in such areas as cost-effectiveness analyses, the development of greenhouse gas inventories and action plans, integrated environmental/energy policy planning, coordination and facilitation of multi-party working groups, and the development and implementation of market transformation programs. He has conducted work on behalf of clients in more than a dozen states and six countries as well as for several international organizations.
Stephen J. Humes
Stephen Humes is a partner at the law firm of McCarter & English, LLP. Mr. Humes's transactional, regulatory compliance and litigation practice focuses on environmental, energy, public utility and telecommunications law. He advises clients on energy regulatory, land use and environmental issues, including those associated with power plant, alternative energy, cogeneration, liquefied natural gas and pipeline facilities, telecommunications towers and other utility facility siting matters. His energy-related environmental experience includes emerging issues on Climate Change. He co-chairs the firm's Climate Change and Renewable Energy Group. He has more than fifteen years of experience on environmental matters, including transactional due diligence and contractual matters, environmental compliance and advising public companies on the environmental disclosure obligations imposed by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (including the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and global climate change concerns on disclosure requirements). He has extensive experience on natural resource damage investigations, assessments and restoration implementation arising in the marine oil pollution context.
Mr. Humes's energy, utility and telecommunications experience includes transactional matters and administrative agency representations of various regulated companies and other stakeholders in regulatory proceedings before the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control, Connecticut Siting Council, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, New York State Public Service Commission, and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. He has also advised competitive energy companies throughout the New England and the Mid-Atlantic regions. His energy clients have included electric and natural gas utilities and their non-utility affiliates, LNG storage operators, competitive natural gas marketers and electric suppliers, exempt wholesale generators, cogeneration facility owners, wireless telecommunications carriers, cable television franchisees, tower developers and manufacturers. He is advising property owner and developer clients on alternative energy facility development, regulatory approvals, interconnection and other siting issues, including solar, wind, biodiesel and cogeneration.
Mr. Humes represents a major wireless telecommunications carrier in tower proceedings in Connecticut before the Connecticut Siting Council and in other states on siting issues. He has also advised the responsible party in several major oil spills in the New York and Boston areas involving barge incidents. He has litigated for wireless carriers in disputes over whether historic electric utility easements permit wireless antenna installations, including arguing the first state Supreme Court decision nationwide on the issue (See Zhang v. Omnipoint, 272 Conn. 627 (2005)) and successfully litigated other important wireless facility siting issues (See Corcoran v. Connecticut Siting Council, 284 Conn. 455 (2007)). In energy litigation, Mr. Humes recently litigated, in a case resolved successfully through mediation, a dispute between a large group of institutional natural gas customers and a competitive energy supplier. Mr. Humes assisted an international energy company in identifying federal, state and local permitting issues and requirements in connection with major projects to develop marine LNG terminal facilities. Recently, he led the firm's representation of international investors in power plant facilities in multiple transactions on due diligence in support of power plant acquisitions or divestitures. In connection with corporate transactions, Mr. Humes advises property owners and energy facility operators on transactional and compliance issues pursuant to the Connecticut Transfer Act and New Jersey Industrial Site Recovery Act. He also has experience advising independent power producers on transactional issues with power plants and cogeneration facilities in New England. Mr. Humes is recognized by Chambers USA Guide to Leading Lawyers, "Leaders in their Field" 2009 edition, and the International Who's Who of Environment Lawyers 2009.
Gregory F. Jenner
Gregory F. Jenner is a partner in the Tax practice group at the law firm of Stoel Rives. Greg has broad experience in virtually all Federal tax matters, with particular focus on planning and implementing complex tax-related transactions, partnerships and joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions. He has worked extensively on energy-and insurance-related tax issues, and has successfully represented taxpayers in Federal and state tax controversies, in both audit and litigation. Greg has been active for many years in the Federal tax policy process, working closely with senior policy makers in Congress, the Treasury Department, and the Internal Revenue Service. Prior to joining Stoel Rives, Greg was an attorney and consultant in Washington, DC. He served as Executive Vice President, Taxes and Retirement Security, for the American Council of Life Insurers until 2007. Previously, he served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy from February 2004, to December 2004, and was nominated by President George W. Bush to be Assistant Secretary. Prior to his elevation to Acting Assistant Secretary, Greg served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, beginning in 2002. As the Acting Assistant Secretary, Greg directed the Treasury's Office of Tax Policy, which is responsible for providing the Administration with policy analysis, advice and recommendations relating to all aspects of domestic and international issues of Federal taxation, including all legislative proposals, regulatory guidance, and tax treaties. The Office of Tax Policy is also responsible for providing the official estimates of all Federal Government receipts for the President's budget, fiscal policy decisions, and Treasury cash management decisions. Prior to his appointment as Deputy Assistant Secretary, Greg was a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Venable, Baetjer, Howard & Civiletti, LLP, specializing in tax policy issues before Congress, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service. Greg previously served in the Treasury Department as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary (Tax Policy) from 1989 through 1992. He also served as Tax Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance from 1985 through 1989, where he helped write the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
Bruce Kahn
Bruce Kahn, PhD, is a Senior Investment Analyst for Climate Change Strategies: New York. He joined the company in 2008 with 20 years of experience in environmental research, most recently as it relates to investments. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, he managed assets for high net-worth and institutional investors at CitiSmith Barney's Private Wealth Management Group. Previous experience includes investment and market research for IC Value Inc (previously Center for Sustainable Systems Studies, Miami University of Ohio), management consulting and corporate sustainability strategist for Cameron-Cole LLC, and environmental research positions for the University of Wisconsin, Madison, The Ecological Society of America and Auburn University, and service in the US Peace Corps as an agricultural agent and provincial representative. Bruce holds a BA in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut, a MS in Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures from Auburn University, a PhD in Environmental Science from University of Wisconsin, Madison, and is a recipient of both a J. William Fulbright Scholarship and a National Science Foundation Fellowship in ecological economics.
Grace Kurdian
Ms. Kurdian concentrates her energy and environmental practice on regulatory compliance, litigation and transactional work focusing in the areas of energy, renewable energy, and public utilities law. Ms. Kurdian advises clients in the emerging area of climate change, including regulatory developments, risks, and opportunities that arise as state and regional emissions limitations, renewable portfolio standards, and energy efficiency standards are established and federal climate change policy continues to emerge. She is a member of the firm's Climate Change and Renewable Energy Group. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Kurdian worked for four years as a Deputy Attorney General at the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Law, primarily representing the Board of Public Utilities and the Department of Environmental Protection, with a broad based energy and telecommunications regulatory practice. In that capacity, as New Jersey implemented the Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act and the subsequent restructuring of the energy industry, she participated in various electric utility rate cases, electric utility mergers, stranded cost cases, environmental remediation cases, and dockets that involved the introduction of and regulatory mandates for basic generation supply auctions in New Jersey's competitive energy market. Her telecommunications experience included applications to the FCC with regard to the state's number conservation efforts, reviewing interconnection agreements, and providing advice concerning the impact of the FCC's Triennial Review Order on state telecommunications regulation.
Henry Labalme
Henry Labalme, is Director of East Coast Operations for Tioga Energy. Based in New York City, Henry oversees the company’s regional business development initiatives and helps coordinate and manage on-going projects. Henry began his career with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a federal agency that provides political risk insurance and project financing for U.S. companies investing in developing countries. Later, he managed business development efforts in Latin American for Ecology & Environment, Inc., a leading environmental engineering and consulting firm. Following this, he was a managing partner in a green investment company with holdings in organic food production and an eco resort in Central America. Prior to joining Tioga Energy, Henry was a principal with Climate Change Partners, a greenhouse gas risk management firm, where he identified and analyzed investment opportunities in the clean energy sector for a new $250 million equity fund. Henry has a B.A. from Middlebury College and a degree in the General Course from the London School of Economics.
Morten Lund
Morten Lund is a member of the law firm Stoel Rives, practicing in the Energy and Telecommunications group. His experience includes a broad variety of energy transactions, with particular focus on the development and financing of renewable energy projects, including wind energy and solar energy projects.Morten's project finance background covers the spectrum of transactions involving wind and solar projects (both CSP and PV), including development, finance, acquisition and divestiture. He also has extensive experience with the construction, acquisition and/or financing of combustion generator projects, hydroelectric facilities, cogeneration facilities, nuclear energy facilities, biofuel projects and other energy projects. Morten has particularly strong experience in project finance construction documentation and complex power purchase arrangements. He has also been involved in a number of complex international financing transactions in both energy industry and other sectors. Morten was born in Oslo, Norway, and is a native speaker of Norwegian. He remains involved in Scandinavian transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures for Norwegian clients and representing American clients in joint ventures in Norway.
Peter Lynch
Mr. Lynch has worked, for 32 years as a Wall Street security analyst, an investment banker and a private investor in small emerging technology companies. He has been actively involved in following developments in the renewable energy sector since 1977 and is regarded as an expert in this field. During this time he assisted a number of renewable energy companies with private placements and public offerings in the 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s and has raised over $600MM for renewable energy companies in the areas of: Photovoltaics, Solar Thermal, Wind and Biomass.
He was the contributing editor for 17 years to the Photovoltaic Insider Report, the first publication in Photovoltaics (PV) that was directed at industrial subscribers, such as major energy companies, utilities and governments around the world. He has an MBA in finance, with a speciality in municipal and utility finance. Prior to that he was a computer systems designer with EDS and a officer in the United States Navy. He is currently a private investor and has from time to time been a financial/technology consultant to a number of emerging technology and renewable energy companies. He can be reached via email at: solarjpl@aol.com or at his site for the promotion of solar energy through art and commentary - www.sunseries.net.
Jonathan Melmed
Jonathan Melmed’s practice focuses on international corporate mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, and recapitalizations. He is also the head of Chadbourne's Canada practice and is a member of Chadbourne's M&A and private equity transactional group. Mr. Melmed represents corporations and private equity, venture capital and hedge funds in domestic and cross-border M&A, private equity, venture capital, and recapitalization transactions, including U.S.-Canada. He has also represented numerous companies and investment banks in U.S. securities transactions, including initial public offerings, as well as both public and private debt and equity offerings. While Mr. Melmed has very broad sector experience, during the last several years he has been working on a number of alternative energy M&A, private equity and venture capital transactions.
Michael Molnar
Michael joined Greentech Capital Advisors from Goldman Sachs, where he was a Vice President in Global Investment Research and the lead analyst for the US alternative energy and coal sectors. His research was spread among a variety of areas such as coal mining, coal technology, solar module manufacturing, demand response, waste-to-energy, battery storage, wind, and fuel cells. Prior to that, he also covered the homebuilder sector. For 2008, Michael's stock-picking performance was in the top 5% of all of Goldman Sachs US equity analysts with his recommendations resulting in +32% absolute performance, +72% relative to Russell 3000 and +50% relative to coverage universe. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Michael was a Visiting Research Fellow at Accenture's Institute for High Performance Business, a company-sponsored think tank. His research focused on management techniques to most effectively maximize shareholder value at high-growth companies and was published in both internal and external business journals. He was also a manager in Accenture's strategy practice. Michael started his career with Arthur Andersen in the consumer products and services audit and business advisory group, where he conducted financial statement audits in a variety of sectors such as casino entertainment, discount retail, high-fashion retail, as well as nonprofits. While an undergraduate, he was selected to represent the State of New Jersey in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Honors Internship Program where he assisted in white collar crime investigations. Michael received an MSc with Merit from the London School of Economics, an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BS with Honors from Rutgers University. He is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charterholder and also holds a CPA, CMA, and CFM (Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, and Certified in Financial Management).
Anthony Pereira
Anthony Pereira, President & CEO of altPOWER has more than a decade of experience in leadership, building renewable energy projects throughout the New York Metropolitan area with some of the leading architectural, engineering and construction management firms in the world. His achievements have been featured in professional papers on renewable energy and he has been a speaker on the topic at numerous events and conferences throughout the world. He has also been a featured guest on several local, national and international radio and television programs. Anthony holds a BA in Economics from Fordham University in the Bronx and he spent a portion of degree studies at the University of Warwick in Coventry England. Upon receiving his degree, began fundraising and activist work with Greenpeace Action in New York City. In 1998, Anthony founded altPOWER, Inc., a renewable energy design and construction firm based in Manhattan with a primary focus on solar electric systems. Within the past 10 years he has built altPOWER into one of the most successful and well respected renewable energy businesses in the Northeast.
Wilson Rickerson
Wilson Rickerson is a Boston-based consultant focusing on renewable energy policy and markets, and founder of Rickerson Energy Strategies. He has advised state and municipal government on policy development, consulted to national firms seeking to invest in the renewable energy industry, and assisted non-profit and academic organizations with program development. He has co-authored over twenty-five studies on clean energy, climate change, and sustainable transportation, and has presented research at local, national, and international conferences. Prior to launching REStrategies, he managed the Center for Sustainable Energy's (CSE) policy research practice and helped develop a suite of successful programs, including the City University of New York's Million Solar Roofs Partnership with the US Department of Energy. As a Research Associate with the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy he drafted and helped negotiate Delaware's renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) and performance contracting legislation on behalf of the Delaware Senate Majority Leader. He began his career in renewable energy as part of a Congressionally-sponsored professional exchange in Germany where he conducted policy and market research for the German Wind Energy Association in Berlin. Wilson is a Policy Fellow at the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy and the Policy Advisor at the Center for Sustainable Energy at Bronx Community College, where he focuses on renewable energy in urban areas. He serves on the Board of Clean Energy, Clean Environment, and the Advisory Board of the Network for New Energy Choices. He holds a Masters in Energy and Environmental Policy from the University of Delaware and a B.A. in International Relations from the College of William and Mary.
Tate Rider
Tate Rider joined the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) in May 2009 as Senior Project Manager for Renewable Energy. Tate serves as the point person for renewable energy issues, policies, and private sector inquiries for New York City. Tate also works closely with Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability on implementing the renewable energy initiatives outlined in PlaNYC, the comprehensive sustainability plan for New York City's future. Prior to NYCEDC, Tate worked on the economic development team in the Office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (Los Angeles) as the Technology Sector Liaison. In that role, Tate worked primarily on clean technology business development and helped form Clean Tech Los Angeles, a partnership between government, business, and academia. Tate also served as an advisor to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, where he negotiated university partnerships for R&D and managed the planning phase of a clean technology research center. Tate earned his B.A. at the University of California, Los Angeles.
James Rose
James Rose serves as the Sr. Policy Analyst at the Network for New Energy Choices. He primarily works on NNEC projects involving renewable electricity policies. James holds a Master’s of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a BA in Biology from Earlham College. He is the co-author and project manager of NNEC’s report on net metering and interconnection, Freeing the Grid. His research interests include public policy, renewable energy technologies, and ways to improve energy efficiency.
Guy Sliker
Guy Sliker is the Program Manager for Distributed Energy Resources and Energy Utilization in the Research and Technology Development group of the New York Power Authority, the nation's largest state-owned power organization. Mr. Sliker has been working with distributed generation and renewable energy R&D fields for 15 years, primarily with public and private electric utility companies. At his current position at the New York Power Authority Mr. Sliker is responsible for the implementation of the company's distributed energy resource, renewable energy and hydrogen energy programs. In addition, Mr. Sliker is responsible for the long term operation of distributed generation projects throughout New York State. Mr. Sliker has a BA in Economics and an MS in Mechanical Engineering, both from the University of Massachusetts.
Melissa Swift
Melissa is a manager in Regulatory & Capital Markets Consulting in New York, NY, specializing in climate change and particularly carbon markets. At Deloitte, Melissa has helped clients tackle a variety of issues in the nascent American carbon markets - from valuing offset holdings to reshaping middle office in the carbon context. Melissa has been a featured speaker on climate change at both Deloitte-run and external conferences. Recent publications include "Carbon and credit: colliding?" in the International Energy Credit Association Journal, Fall 2008, and "Refueling Commodity Risk Management" (co-author), Arizona Trucking Association Magazine, 2008-9. Melissa joined Deloitte from the Environmental Financial Products Team at Deutsche Bank. At Deutsche, she marketed Certified Emissions Reductions to clients across Europe, building a pan-European client base of both compliance buyers and investors. Melissa has extensive experience with structured carbon transactions (as well as more vanilla ETS trades) under a variety of legal frameworks, and is familiar with the evolving regulatory landscape on both sides of the Atlantic. During her time at Deutsche, Melissa also marketed oil and oil products to frequent hedgers. Prior to business school, she conducted strategic market research as a brand planner for several boutique advertising agencies.
Thomas W. Thompson
Tom Thompson is the President of Energy Now, Inc., a NYS corporation and developer of renewable power systems and markets. Energy Now was established in 2005 and has developed one of the largest solar systems and one of the only fuel cell systems in NYC. Today, Energy Now is focused on the development of commercial rooftop solar systems in selected, North American markets including NY, NJ and Ontario, as well as utility scale solar power plants and BIPV systems. Tom works with ATG/New Energy Options (www.atgsolar.com) and with solar silicon, production equipment, cell and module manufacturers in Europe and Asia as well as in the US, assisting clients in the development of solar module manufacturing facilities in North America and Asia. As part of the portfolio of services offered by Energy Now, Tom is also engaged in the NYS legislative and regulatory arena as a public advocate for laws and rules that accelerate the creation of a competitive, renewable power marketplace.
Tom is the past President of the NY Solar Energy Industries Association (www.NYSEIA.org), serving on the board for over five years. As President, Tom’s articulated goal was for NYS to demonstrate policy leadership and become one of the world’s Top Ten solar markets. Tom led NYSEIA through a period of unprecedented growth in membership, revenues and political influence. While President, the NYS Legislature passed an expanded net metering law and Feed-In Tariff bill was introduced in 2009 in both houses. The size of the NY solar market also grew during this time.
For the past four years, Tom served as the Senior Vice President at Atlantis Energy Systems, Inc. (www.AtlantisEnergy.com), a US manufacturer of solar electric building systems and the world’s first manufacturer of Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) systems. From 2000 through 2005, Tom served as the Vice President of Sustainable Energy at the nation’s first urban electric co-op, the 1st Rochdale NYC Electric Cooperative. With the support of National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the Weissmann Institute, Tom worked with the son of baseball great, Jackie Robinson, to deliver a solar-powered water purification system to a rural, Tanzanian village.
As Executive Director of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association from 1995 to 2000, Tom grew revenues by over 200%, to over $1 million, and developed the nation’s first renewably-powered, public park.
From 1986 through 1995, Tom served in the Demand Side Management (DSM) office of NYS Department of Public Service, where he led a collaborative of utilities, public advocates, state agencies and private companies in the establishment of the largest, ratepayer-funded, utility weatherization program in the country. Tom holds a BA in Environmental Science from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh and completed the Regulatory Studies Program of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) at the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management at Michigan State University.
James Torpey
James Torpey is Director of Market Development at SunPower Corporation. He works to grow sustainable solar markets by working with state legislators, regulators and utilities as well as industry and advocacy groups. He negotiates SunpPower’s Renewable Energy Credit (REC) agreements, works with utilities to implement large scale solar programs, and he provides technical and policy assistance in the eastern United States, Texas, Ontario and Australia. Before joining SunPower, James was President of Madison Energy Consultants, where he assisted national PV manufacturers in establishing dealer networks, he performed policy advocacy for PV Now in regulatory proceedings in New Jersey, Pa. and Texas, lead distributed energy market integration projects for EPRI in California and Massachusetts and he was the lead contractor for the NJ BPU STAC Distributed Resource Program for both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In 2006, James wrote “A Commodity Market-based Transition to a Large Scale Sustainable Solar Market: Moving the New Jersey Solar Program from Rebates to RECs,” as part of the NJBPU White Paper series.
James currently serves on the Board of Directors of Epolin Inc., where he also serves as Chair of the Compensation Committee- Epolin Inc. From1999 to 2001 James served as Chairman of the Solar Electric Power Association. From 2002 to 2005 he served on the Board of Industry Advisors for the USDOE-National Center for Photovoltaics, and from 2000 to 2002 he served on the Board of Directors of the Business and Education Together Foundation in Morris County NJ.
Mark Warner
Mark Warner is the Founder and CEO of the Sun Farm Network, one of the largest and most active solar development companies in New Jersey. The company is a market leader in solar commercialization, especially in creating business models and financing solutions that make solar accessible to mainstream markets. Mark is recognized nationally as a leader in the development of renewable energy policy, and the commercialization of Renewable Portfolio Standards in particular. He is a member of the state’s Renewable Energy Committee, is actively involved in the state’s Energy Master Plan process, and has served on the board of directors for the Mid-Atlantic Solar Energy Industry as well as being president of its New Jersey Chapter. He was recognized as an outstanding policy leader by Greenfaith in 2007, is a regular speaker at industry events, and is a co-founder of the NJ Coalition for a Sustainable Energy Future. The Sun Farm Network was recognized by NJ BIZ as a top Clean Energy Company in NJ, and as the Clean Energy Market Leader in Innovation by the NJ BPU in 2008.
Scott Weiner
Scott serves as Petra Solar’s Vice President and General Counsel. Scott leads the company’s activities related to legal and regulatory matters, market development and the establishment of strategic alliances with other market participants. Scott began his private sector energy career as an executive at the utility holding company, General Public Utilities (GPU). In that capacity he initially served as Vice President for Corporate Development at GPU Service Corporation where he was responsible for establishing a unit to identify venture opportunities relating to emerging energy technologies as well as leading the evaluation of investment opportunities identified by the corporation’s business unit’s. He also coordinated the corporation’s interaction with EPRI. Scott’s development team was transferred to the unregulated subsidiary, GPU International, where he served as Vice President for Development with responsibility for investment activities and project development related to power generation and the commercialization of emerging energy technologies. Among the investments lead by Scott was the joint venture between GPU International and Ballard Power Systems that lead to the creation of Ballard Generation Systems.
Scott is a recognized leader of industry collaborations to promote sustainable development and technology commercialization. He currently serves as a board member and is the former chairman of the US Business Council for Sustainable Energy and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. He has previously served as a board member of the National Hydrogen Association, the Solar Energy Industries Association, the Electric Power Supply Association, the Center for Sustainable Development in the Americas, and the New Jersey Corporation for Advanced Technology. Most recently, Scott served as a member of the transition team for Governor Corzine and also served as the Governor’s Special Counsel and as a Special Assistant Attorney General for School Construction. Scott has held a number of senior public offices including: President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy, Chief Counsel to former New Jersey Governor Jim Florio, Executive Director of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, and Vice Chair of the New Jersey Executive Commission of Ethical Standards. Scott also served as a member of the Clinton-Gore EPA transition Team and was appointed by Former US Energy Secretary O’Leary as a member of the U.S. Commercialization Ventures Advisory Council.
Fred Zalcman
Fred Zalcman is the Northeastern States Director of Regulatory Affairs for SunEdison. His work focuses primarily on creating robust, self-sustaining state-based markets for solar energy in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions. Zalcman has over 20 years of experience in the energy field as an attorney and policy analyst. His career has centered on promoting market structures and regulatory policies that are supportive of energy efficiency, renewable resources and clean distributed generation. Prior to joining SunEdison, Zalcman was the Executive Director of the Pace Law School Energy and Climate Center, one of the nation’s preeminent sustainable energy research, education and advocacy groups. Zalcman has served on a number of gubernatorial, legislative and agency advisory boards providing guidance and counsel on clean energy policy and program development.. He has also taught energy and natural resources law, and has written and lectured extensively on energy and environmental matters. The Northeast Region of the Association of Energy Engineers recently named him Renewable Energy Innovator of 2009. Zalcman received a B.A in History from Washington University in St. Louis, and a joint degree in Law and Public Administration from Indiana University.
Adam J. Zellner
Adam Zellner, a finance and government relations expert is the current President of Greener by Design LLC, an environmental asset management and renewable energy company with offices in New Jersey and Washington DC. Mr. Zellner is the former Policy Director for the State of New Jersey. In this role, Adam oversaw policy development for Governor Jon S. Corzine and co-authored the State’s Energy Master Plan. Prior to joining the Governor’s staff, Adam served as the Deputy Commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to Lisa P. Jackson. In addition, Mr. Zellner was the inaugural Executive Director of the New Jersey Highlands Council and is the former Executive Director of the New Jersey Office of Smart Growth. Adam also served as State Director to Congressman Steve Rothman, who represents the 9th Congressional District of New Jersey and has worked for a variety of State Legislators throughout his career. Adam earned degrees in Economics and Finance from Rowan University and Temple University.
