Extreme Weather: Disaster Preparedness as a Strategic Opportunity

Thursday, April 18

8:30-10:00 AM     Planning: Creating the Framework for Resiliency

Moderator:  Laurie Reilly, Sustainable CUNY, City University of New York

• State Role: Overview of State Energy Emergency Plans:  David Terry, Executive Director, National Association of State Energy Officials
• Local Role: Casey Johnston, Renewable Energy Program Director, ICLEI
• Utility Role: Margarett Jolly, Distributed Generation (DG) Ombudswoman, ConEdison

1:00-2:30 PM       Mitigation: Technologies and Strategies to Reduce Risk

Moderator:  Jeffrey Peterson, Program Manager, Innovation and Business Development, New York State Energy Research & Development Authority

• Challenges and Opportunities, Technology Perspective:  John Thornton, President, Thornton Solar Consulting
• Shaun Chapman, Deputy Director/Government Affairs- East Cost, SolarCity
• Will Lent, Solar Energy Industries Association

3:00-4:30 PM       Recovery: Strategies After the Storm Has Passed

Moderator:  Christine Donovan, Managing Consultant, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation

• What We’ve Learned from Hurricane Disasters: Kevin Lynn, DOE
• Rebuilding for Sustainability: Case Studies in the Making:  Lynn Billman, Section Supervisor for the Market and Policy Impact Analysis Group, NREL

Friday, April 19

8:30-10:00 AM     Paying for Resiliency: Creative Financing Options

Moderator:  Joel Meister, Manager of Government Affairs, Solar Energy Industries Association

• Emerging Financial Tools:  Clay Butler, The Butler Firm
• Commercial Warehouse Roofs:  Urban Fields for PV and Potential Extreme Weather Resiliency:  Drew Torbin, VP-Renewable Energy, ProLogis
• Solar Industry Models:  Tom Leyden, Chief Executive Officer, Solar Grid Storage
• John Conley, VP/Structured Finance, SolarCity