April 8, 2009  

MEDIA CONTACT: Michelle Sherrard
202-994-1423; mcs1@gwu.edu

SOLAR ENERGY: A SOLUTION TO ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS?
APRIL 24, 2009

Energy Experts to Discuss Policy, Economics and Technology

EVENT:  

The George Washington University Institute for Analysis of Solar Energy presents the first in a series of annual symposiums focused on using solar electricity to meet challenges in energy independence and climate change. Key technical leaders and influential decision-makers, including media mogul and environmentalist Ted Turner, Chairman of the Federal Energy Commission Jon Wellinghoff, Department of Energy experts and international solar expert and director of the institute Ken Zweibel, will share new research with the aim of developing a consensus vision for the role of solar energy.

WHEN:  

Friday, April 24, 2009; 8:30am - 5pm

WHERE:  

The George Washington University
Media and Public Affairs Building  
Jack Morton Auditorium
805 21st St., NW, Washington, D.C. 
Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro Station (Orange and Blue lines)

RSVP: 

The event is free and open to the public. Register online at http://solar.gwu.edu/Symposium.html. Media interested in attending should contact Michelle Sherrard at 202-994-1423 or mcs1@gwu.edu.

AGENDA:

Session I: "Solar as a Solution," 8:45 - 10am

- Steven Knapp, GW president
- Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, (D-AZ)
- Ken Zweibel, director, GW Institute for Analysis of Solar Energy
- Peg Barratt, dean, GW Columbian College of Arts and Sciences

Session II: "The German Feed in Tariff as a Model for Solar Deployment," 10:15 - 11:45am

- Karin Corfee, senior principal, KEMA, Inc.
- Hans Josef Fell, German Bundestag representative
- Julia Hamm, executive director, Solar Electric Power Association
- Rhone Resch, director, Solar Energy Industry Association
- Wilson Rickerson, senior vice president, Meister Consultants Group

Lunch Discussion, 12:45 - 1:15pm

Jonathan Deason and Robert Harrington, GW School of Engineering and Applied Science professors and principal investigators, will provide an update on the Institute for the Analysis of Solar Energy's new projects.

Session III: "Status and Potential of Solar," 1:30 - 3:15pm

- Sam Baldwin, chief technology officer and member of the Board of Directors, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy
- Stephen O'Rourke, managing director, Deutsche Bank Securities
- Ted Turner, chairman, Turner Enterprises
- Jon Wellinghoff, commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Session IV: "Solar Paths Forward," 3:30 - 5pm

- John Lushetsky, manager of the Solar Energy Technologies Program and acting deputy assistant secretary, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy
- Robert Margolis, senior analyst, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Richard Perez, professor, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, SUNY Albany

For more information on the Institute for the Analysis of Solar Energy, visit http://solar.gwu.edu.

For more news about The George Washington University, visit www.gwnewscenter.org.

- GW -