Just a reminder that the California Clean Innovation Conference (CACI) will be held this FRIDAY on May 4, 2012 at UCLA Covel Commons!
Special Guest Speakers:
- Closing Remarks by Chelsea Sexton, a veteran clean transportation and energy advocate; her work on General Motors’ EV1 program was featured in the Sony Pictures Classics film, “Who Killed the Electric Car?”
- Keynote Address by Fred Walti, II, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI).
Fast Pitch Business Competition:
Early-stage clean technology companies will pitch their business plans to a panel of leading industry experts and you! The winner will be awarded $10,000 in cash.
Here is a brief description of 4 (of 
panel topics:
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure: This EV Infrastructure Panel is designed to explore the market trends, opportunities, risks, challenges, and new products in both EV charging and EVs themselves. Panelists include Jordan Ramer, CEO, EVConnect, Alex Keros, Senior Project Engineer,General Motors, and Aaron Platshon, Co-founder, Wheelz.
Solar Power: Past, Present, and Future: California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) has served as a major market driver for growth in solar power deployment. As California utilities begin to approach the goal of providing 33% of their power from renewable sources, however, will solar power technologies be able to remain competitive? The list of experts that will be weighing in on the conversation are Ryan Matulka, Corporate Development, Amonix, John King, President and CEO, Combined Power Cooperative, J. Stephen Pollock, VP of Sales North America,Tianwei Solar USA, and Daniel Dus, COO, Martifer Solar.
Money for Megawatts: This panel will address trends in financing new technologies related to energy. In order for quick progress to be made in the development and deployment of alternative energies, the alternative energy space needs to move away from a subsidy driven market to one that is driven by free-market economics. This panel will look at funding mechanisms and the role of venture capital, private equity, project finance, and consulting in bringing new technologies to the forefront. Some of the panelists are Ashwin Abhyankar, Advisor, Alpheas Strategic Advisors, Ian Gardner, Vice President, Oracle Capital, and Luke Hayes, Principal, Craton Equity Partners.
Back to the Future: We will explore the role of electric utilities given the influx of renewable and distributed generation in California. There are significant infrastructure upgrades that will be needed over the coming decades as more intermittent generation sources are brought online. What long-term challenges are most important for utilities to be working on today? How will California’s utilities fund, construct, and manage increased investment in transmission and distribution with minimal rate increases? How will utilities react to potential policy changes regarding climate change, feed-in tariffs and, carbon trading while keeping the lights on? The panelists that will debate these hot questions are Greg Trimarche, Attorney & Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Dr. Gary Stern, Director of Market Strategy and Resource Planning, Southern California Edison, and Matt Abbott, Partner, Bain & Company.
And many more @ www.caci2012.com!
