Topic: PV in 2012: Global markets, technology trends, and supply and demand dynamics

Finlay Colville
Vice-President
Solarbuzz

Finlay Colville is a Senior Analyst with Solarbuzz, and is responsible for reporting on solar manufacturing equipment including technologies, trends and forecasts within the solar industry. He has been a frequent speaker at major solar industry events worldwide, and is a regular contributor to leading solar trade magazines and online newsletters. Prior to joining Solarbuzz in March 2010, he was Director of Marketing for Coherent, Inc.'s solar business unit. He holds a bachelor's degree in Physics from the University of Glasgow and received a PhD in Laser Physics from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

Topic: Rent-a-roof and aggregated PV schemes; is financing still viable in the UK?

Dr Toby Ferenczi
Toby is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer
Engensa Solar Installations

Toby leads the procurement and installation teams and has responsibility for the operational side of Engensa's business.

He has experience working for General Electric building their renewable energy business in Munich nestled in the heartland of the German solar industry.

Prior to GE, Toby worked for New Energy Finance in London.

Toby has a BA and MSci in Physics from Cambridge and a PhD in solar technology from Imperial College, London.

Topic: Automatic performance monitoring of PV installations using Smart Meters

Howard Stark
Managing Director
Stark Software

Howard Stark is the founder and Managing Director of Stark Software. Established in 1981, Stark is the UK's leading independent provider of automatic meter reading (AMR), data collection and online reporting services. For the PV and Renewables market, Stark provides a complete service that includes meter asset and SIM provision, electronic delivery of FiT reads to suppliers and automatic performance monitoring of PV installations. Our performance analytics include the use of half hourly insolation data covering every UK postcode.

Topic: The outlook for the UK solar PV in 2012 and beyond

Reza Shaybani
Chairman
British Photovoltaic Association

Reza Shaybani has been managing private and public technology focused companies in the optical disc manufacturing equipment and semiconductor industries for the past 20 years. For the past 5 years Reza has been involved in the solar PV industry as founder and investor in a number of leading companies including, Scheuten Solar, Solar Technology Centre, Solarjobs.com (a global online job board for the solar industry), System Photonics, The Electric Roof Company and OTB Energy.

In 2010, Reza and a group of companies with interest in the UK solar PV market (the founding members) formed the British Photovoltaic Association, the national trade association of the UK solar PV industry.

As the voice of the industry, the BPVA is working to make solar PV a mainstream and significant energy source by expanding markets, removing market barriers, strengthening the industry and educating the public on the benefits of solar energy. Reza is currently the Chairman of the British Photovoltaic Association and Director General of International Renewable Energy Certification Organisation (IRECO).

Topic: Reducing the risk in photovoltaic systems by means of type testing

Peter Khoury
CEO
IPSOL Energy Ltd.

Peter Khoury, (CEO) has over 22 years experience as a business executive, bridging the gap between commercial and technical disciplines. He is a seasoned international executive with versatile background in a wide range of functional roles, including commercial, business operations, organisational development, information systems, technology and infrastructure. Until recently, he was CEO of BridgeTech Industries LLC, a world leading developer of solar thermal technologies based in San Francisco. Peter, a chemical engineering and computer sciences graduate, is a seasoned and versatile international executive, who has held senior positions in a broad spectrum of businesses from start-ups to multi-nationals. He has launched and sold a number of privately-owned start-up ventures, including an ICT consulting business, which he sold in a multi-million dollar exit to a US quoted company. Peter also has an excellent track record of raising finance for private and public sources in the US, Europe and China. Peter is also Non-executive Director of BridgeTech Industries LLC and Touchstone Consulting Limited.

Topic: Reporting UK PV Yield

Aldous Everard
Engineering Manager
Sheffield Solar Farm

Aldous is Engineering Manager at Sheffield Solar Farm, a project at the University of Sheffield which is researching PV technologies and UK micro-generation. At the roof top test bed the outdoor performance of new and established technologies is investigated, while the micro-generation database collects and reports on data from over PV 700 installations around the UK.

Aldous has worked in the environmental sector for ten years running an environmental monitoring business. He then studied for an Msc in renewable energy at the Centre for Alternative Technology before moving to his current post at the Solar Farm.

Topic: Photovoltaic materials and devices: current status and applications

Dr. Michael Walls, BSc PhD MIMM C.Phys C.Eng FInstP
Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST)
Loughborough University

Michael Walls is Professor of Photovoltaics for Power Systems in the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST). He is responsible for photovoltaics device research within CREST and his research focus is in thin film photovoltaics.

Michael started his career at Loughborough University in the Physics Department where he specialized in surface and thin films research and set up a surface analysis facility which is now housed in the Department of Materials. He then moved into industry in Technical Director/Managing Director roles within VG Instruments plc (now Thermo Fisher Scientific). He then went on to found a series of high technology start up companies involved in thin film optical coating, thermal management systems and atom probe instrumentation. He remains a Director of two of these companies.

He is a member of the Ion and Plasma Surface Interactions (IPSI) Group committee of the Institute of Physics and is organizer of "Plasmas, Surfaces and Thin Films" and "Thin Film Photovoltaics" meetings both of which have become annual events. He is a member of the American Vacuum Society and the Materials Research Society. He has been responsible for more than 100 publications including 3 books and 14 patents.

Topic: Building with PV

Hamish Watson
CEO
Polysolar Ltd

Hamish is Founder and CEO of Polysolar Ltd, an award winning Cambridge based photovoltaic company producing an innovative semi-transparent photovoltaic glazing module for building integrated applications.

Hamish started his career in strategy consulting initially in London before setting up his own consulting firm in Hong Kong in the early 80s advising multinationals moving into China. Returning to the UK he established a mobile data transmission company and worked widely in technology commercialisation and enterprise support. An approach by a previous client lead him to found Polysolar an R&D company developing transparent photovoltaic window glass based on novel organic polymers PV materials. The company has recently launched its first product, a low cost semi-transparent a-Si BIPV glazing module and is at the forefront of developing next generation organic solar cells.

Topic: Advantages of CIGS and of Saint-Gobain Solar PowerMax

Budhi Chilkoti
Saint Gobain Solar

Budhi joined Saint-Gobain Solar Systems in 2010 in the position of General Manager for the launch of the company in the UK and Ireland. He has previously worked across various industries, focusing on business development, new opportunities, commercial negotiations and advising clients on legal matters to maintain market leadership.

Budhi was a captain of super-tankers, during which time he spearheaded the design and implementation of environment and sustainability strategy and ensured compliance with various statutory requirements; streamlined carbon reporting and reduced waste generation and emissions, achieving competitive advantage and better industry positioning.

He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Southampton and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management, where he was involved in a range of solar and low carbon technologies.

Topic: Challenges of larger commercial installations on buildings

Dr. Daniel Davies
Chief Technology Officer
Solarcentury

Dan is a leading designer of BIPV products and building solutions, with 20 years of experience in the renewable energy sector. Dan is Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Solarcentury which he joined from Halcrow consulting.

He completed his PhD at Reading University on the use of wind and solar PV for water pumping. Prior to this Dan completed his MSc in Renewable Energy and the Environment at Reading.

Topic: REC's global activities, module performance and sustainable activities

Pierre Cesbron
REC

Pierre Cesbron is the Business Development Manager UK & Eire for REC Solar France SAS. In this role, he is responsible for driving sales of REC photovoltaic modules and developing the company's market presence and brand across the region. He joined REC in 2009 as Project Manager, leading projects in the Indian Ocean, France and Benelux. Prior to joining REC, Pierre has held various international sales and marketing and consulting roles for industries including consumer goods, transportation, supply chain and strategic consultancies. His professional experience has given the opportunity to work in England, continental Europe, Africa and Asia. Pierre is a French and American citizen.

Topic: A new supply chain for a new FiT

Spencer Jansen

Spencer Jansen has over 25 years' experience developing and managing Thin-Film coating operations in both the Electro Optics and Photovoltaic business sectors. In more recent times Spencer consulted for companies in the USA and China where he helped them to develop specific markets as well as supporting their technology development. One such project resulted in setting up a CIGS module factory in India. In 2011 Spencer started to work with The Solar Building Company and joined them full times as their Technical Director in 2012.

Topic: UK looking for further investment in Solar PV

James Beal
Renewable Energy Specialist
UK Trade & Investment

James Beal became an advisor to the UK Trade and Investment ( UK Government Agency) on energy and infrastructure inward investment matters in May 2010. James supports activities aimed at securing significant investment into the UK to enhance and enable the UK to deliver against its challenging low carbon targets and new infrastructure needs

James has been Managing Director of Renewables East, a private independent not-for-profit company, since May 2004. Since June 2010 this has been in a part time capacity alongside his government advisor role. Under his leadership Renewables East, the regional renewable agency for the East of England has grown on average 54% per year and delivered a series of high profile public funded projects. In 2008 Renewables East won the prestigious industry award from the REA as the best public funded endeavour. Successes include enabling JDR Cables to win the single biggest supply chain order for renewables, £18m cables for the Greater Gabbard Project. In Feb this year James purchased £1m of air source heat pumps to install in fuel poverty properties across the region.

James' previous role of Sustainable Development Manager with Yorkshire Forward and interim CEO of Future Energy Company, included bringing forward low carbon solutions within the regional economy, representing the region's energy interest at a national and international level, and raising awareness of sustainable development and carbon related issues.

Prior to this, James worked as Sustainable Development Analyst, Planning Strategy Team (2001 - 2002) and Environment Assessment Officer (1999-2001) for Warwickshire County Council. He has also been a director of Kirklees Energy Centre, an independent energy efficiency advice centre for Calderdale and Kirklees, West Yorkshire and is the founding director of the £4m EU funded Low Carbon Development Initiative and director of a new venture Renewable Enterprise Ltd.

James was born in Comberton, a large village situated 5 miles west of Cambridge, and now lives just outside Cambridge. He graduated from University of Durham in 1995 with a BSc(hons) Environmental Management. After completing a Masters of Research Built Environment at the University of Leeds in 1996, he spent two years researching sustainable building at the Building Research Centre, University of Salford.

Topic: The need for competent roofers and training in solar

Chis Hopkins
Managing Director, Ploughcroft Solar

Best known for his successful appearance on BBC's Dragon's Den programme, Chris Hopkins is the Yorkshire-based entrepreneur who is one of the leading players in the solar and renewables industry. He is already well established on the public speaking circuit and is building a reputation as an inspiring motivational speaker.

His appearance on BBC's Dragons' Den saw sales double at his company, Ploughcroft Solar, and resulted in over 1,000 enquiries in two weeks. Chris secured £120k of investment from Dragons Deborah Meaden and Theo Paphitis for a 25% stake in his business. Through his appearance, he managed to secure national recognition of his business and to increase customer awareness of the benefits of investing in solar panels.

Despite such a sharp increase in business, Chris has kept his team level-headed and reinforced the importance of retaining first class customer service and delivering on the company's quality installation promises. Since securing the investment, the company has taken on 20 new staff to cater for increasing demand for its products and services and has already started to grow Ploughcroft as a national brand, with offices in the South West and Midlands and eight renewable installation training centres established across the UK.

Chris has faced many challenges against adversity. Ploughcroft Solar was hit hard by the recession in construction during 2009 and made a £200k loss. Chris sold his car and worked without a salary for six months to ensure the business survived. The business is now 95 per cent renewable energy installation, three per cent training and two per cent building and roofing and is well placed to take advantage of opportunities in carbon saving technologies over the next 12 months.

Topic: Key safety points for PV installers

Steve Pester
Principal Consultant
Building Research Establishment (BRE)

Steve is a Principal Consultant within BRE Environment and working on a variety of renewable energy projects and is managing the training, technical backup and process development of the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) at BRE. Steve has an in-depth knowledge of practical microgeneration systems across all technologies covered by the scheme: PV, solar water heating, small wind turbines, biomass & heat pumps, and is responsible for the technical training of the MCS assessors, as well as carrying out his own assessments. He is an active participant of the MCS PV Working group, which is responsible for the technical standard.

Alongside this, Steve is highly active as a renewable energy consultant advising clients on the feasibility and technical aspects of projects and delivering training and presentations at BRE and other industry conferences. He has also contributed to BRE and IEA publications on the subjects of PV and small wind turbine performance. Steve is City & Guilds PV and BPEC solar Thermal qualified.

Topic: The Challenges Of Safe DC Isolation

Fausto Furlotti
CEO
IMO

Fausto Furlotti has over 25 years experience as a business executive across a broad range of financial, commercial and technical disciplines. Following completion of his engineering degree at City University, London, Fausto spent the next decade in the investment banking sector with Kleinwort Benson, UBS and SoPaf based in London and Milan.

Returning to the UK in 1997, he joined IMO as Chief Executive and during the intervening years has helped develop the company from its domestic base into an international supplier of automation and industrial controls products. With offices in France, Italy and North America over 40% of revenue now comes from export.

From its roots in industrial control component manufacture, IMO has become a leading global supplier to the PV sector developing solutions for applications including safety critical DC isolation and high accuracy CPV solar tracking.

Topic: How to Win Commercial Projects

Christian Bouda
MD / CFO
Azur Solar Systems Limited

In March 2012, Christian Bouda was appointed MD and CFO of AZUR Solar Systems Limited and is based at its Slough, Berkshire headquarters. He previously worked in Germany and led the development of international PV projects and expansion for AZUR Solar Group having taken on the role in July 2008. A successful entrepreneur and an expert on the renewable industry since 1999, Christian has also been CFO of ZHB Holzverwertung and was part of the project team of the first 50MW – biomass plant in Germany.

Topic: Solar Thermal v's Solar PV – an ROI comparison

Jan Stasik
Technical Manager
Wagner Solar UK Ltd

Stasik is a veteran of the solar industry and also at Wagner Solar as he joins the UK team from the parent company Wagner & Co, where he belonged to the International Department's Technical Team. Stasik's time at Wagner has also included a 2-year assignment at Wagner Solar USA, where he was responsible for Product and Project management as well as developing and implementing training programs for US installer nationwide.

Topic: How to Thrive in a Turbulent Market

Peregrine Fraser
Regional Sales Manager
EvoEnergy

Topic: Electrical testing for solar PV installations

Philip Old
Applications Engineer
Seaward Group

Philip Old is PV applications engineer at electrical test instrumentation specialist Seaward Solar, where he is responsible for product and technology development. He is a graduate engineer and holds an MSc in Renewable Energy, Enterprise and Management. At Seaward Phil has been heavily involved in developing the company's groundbreaking new range of test products for solar PV installations.

Topic: Survey & design for solar energy systems: how to win business by accurately estimating financial payback and creating professional customer reports

Chris Laughton
The Solar Design Company

Chris is an author and lecturer in solar thermal and photovoltaic industries and trainer in solar simulation software. He is a Fellow of The Institute of Domestic Heating and Environmental Engineers (FIDHEE) and Chair of the National Standards Committee for Solar at BSI. He is a regular columnist in Green Building magazine and produces specialist articles for publications such as PHAM news, Electrical Times, Energy in Buildings & Industry, Renewable Energy World and Sun & Wind Energy. He is an author of the international hardback book Solar Domestic Water Heating published by Earthscan.

Topic: Advantages of CIGS and of Saint-Gobain Solar PowerMax

Budhi Chilkoti
Saint Gobain Solar

Budhi joined Saint-Gobain Solar Systems in 2010 in the position of General Manager for the launch of the company in the UK and Ireland. He has previously worked across various industries, focusing on business development, new opportunities, commercial negotiations and advising clients on legal matters to maintain market leadership.

Budhi was a captain of super-tankers, during which time he spearheaded the design and implementation of environment and sustainability strategy and ensured compliance with various statutory requirements; streamlined carbon reporting and reduced waste generation and emissions, achieving competitive advantage and better industry positioning.

He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Southampton and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management, where he was involved in a range of solar and low carbon technologies.

Topic: Challenges of larger commercial installations on buildings

Dr. Daniel Davies
Chief Technology Officer
Solarcentury

Dan is a leading designer of BIPV products and building solutions, with 20 years of experience in the renewable energy sector. Dan is Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of Solarcentury which he joined from Halcrow consulting.

He completed his PhD at Reading University on the use of wind and solar PV for water pumping. Prior to this Dan completed his MSc in Renewable Energy and the Environment at Reading.

Topic: REC's global activities, module performance and sustainable activities

Pierre Cesbron
REC

Pierre Cesbron is the Business Development Manager UK & Eire for REC Solar France SAS. In this role, he is responsible for driving sales of REC photovoltaic modules and developing the company's market presence and brand across the region. He joined REC in 2009 as Project Manager, leading projects in the Indian Ocean, France and Benelux. Prior to joining REC, Pierre has held various international sales and marketing and consulting roles for industries including consumer goods, transportation, supply chain and strategic consultancies. His professional experience has given the opportunity to work in England, continental Europe, Africa and Asia. Pierre is a French and American citizen.

Topic: A new supply chain for a new FiT

Spencer Jansen

Spencer Jansen has over 25 years' experience developing and managing Thin-Film coating operations in both the Electro Optics and Photovoltaic business sectors. In more recent times Spencer consulted for companies in the USA and China where he helped them to develop specific markets as well as supporting their technology development. One such project resulted in setting up a CIGS module factory in India. In 2011 Spencer started to work with The Solar Building Company and joined them full times as their Technical Director in 2012.

Topic: UK looking for further investment in Solar PV

James Beal
Renewable Energy Specialist
UK Trade & Investment

James Beal became an advisor to the UK Trade and Investment ( UK Government Agency) on energy and infrastructure inward investment matters in May 2010. James supports activities aimed at securing significant investment into the UK to enhance and enable the UK to deliver against its challenging low carbon targets and new infrastructure needs

James has been Managing Director of Renewables East, a private independent not-for-profit company, since May 2004. Since June 2010 this has been in a part time capacity alongside his government advisor role. Under his leadership Renewables East, the regional renewable agency for the East of England has grown on average 54% per year and delivered a series of high profile public funded projects. In 2008 Renewables East won the prestigious industry award from the REA as the best public funded endeavour. Successes include enabling JDR Cables to win the single biggest supply chain order for renewables, £18m cables for the Greater Gabbard Project. In Feb this year James purchased £1m of air source heat pumps to install in fuel poverty properties across the region.

James' previous role of Sustainable Development Manager with Yorkshire Forward and interim CEO of Future Energy Company, included bringing forward low carbon solutions within the regional economy, representing the region's energy interest at a national and international level, and raising awareness of sustainable development and carbon related issues.

Prior to this, James worked as Sustainable Development Analyst, Planning Strategy Team (2001 - 2002) and Environment Assessment Officer (1999-2001) for Warwickshire County Council. He has also been a director of Kirklees Energy Centre, an independent energy efficiency advice centre for Calderdale and Kirklees, West Yorkshire and is the founding director of the £4m EU funded Low Carbon Development Initiative and director of a new venture Renewable Enterprise Ltd.

James was born in Comberton, a large village situated 5 miles west of Cambridge, and now lives just outside Cambridge. He graduated from University of Durham in 1995 with a BSc(hons) Environmental Management. After completing a Masters of Research Built Environment at the University of Leeds in 1996, he spent two years researching sustainable building at the Building Research Centre, University of Salford.