Value of Solar Topic of Stakeholders Forum on June 11

HUDSON, Mass. - June 4, 2015 - PRLog -- The Solar Energy Business Association of New England (SEBANE) and the Northeast Solar Energy Market Coalition (NESEMC) will host an open forum on June 11 to define how to assess solar energy’s value.

At the forum, stakeholders will delve into how state agencies, supported by stakeholders including utilities and the solar industry, could undertake a detailed and transparent analysis of solar generation’s benefits and costs; and how those benefits and costs could be shared among solar system owners, other electricity ratepayers, utilities, solar developers and installers, environmental groups, low-income communities, and others.

“This analysis is a critical next step in developing the sound, long-term solar policy desperately needed, immediately, to preserve solar jobs and related economic growth, get stalled projects back on track, and sustain the Commonwealth’s solar leadership. Ultimately, this effort is about keeping energy affordable, while enhancing the reliability of the grid,” said Tom Thompson, president of SEBANE.

“Defining Solar’s Value: A Stakeholders’ Forum” will take place on Thursday, June 11, 2015, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at District Hall, 75 Northern Avenue in Boston. The event is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required and donations are welcomed to defray expenses. To register, visit: http://bit.ly/SEBANE_VOS.

Speakers will include NESEMC Lead Technical Advisor Dr. Richard Perez and NESEMC Co-Executive Director Karl R. Rábago.

Perez is a research professor at the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, SUNY Albany; and an award-winning researcher and author whose contributions to the field of solar energy include the identification of the potential of solar generation to meet the electricity demand of large cities in the U.S., and the development of solar radiation models used in solar energy calculations around the world.

Rábago is executive director of the Pace Energy and Climate Center, Pace Law School. He is a former utility commissioner, deputy assistant director at the U.S. Department of Energy, and managing director of the Rocky Mountain Institute. He is co-author of “A Regulator’s Guidebook: Calculating the Benefits and Costs of Distributed Solar Generation.”

An opening presentation will be followed by an interactive session and open discussion. The forum will help participants understand the technical issues related to valuing solar, and engage them in clarifying the purpose, methods, and process for completing a value of solar study.

SEBANE is a non-profit trade association of solar businesses, and a founding member of NESEMC. NESEMC has received a cooperative award from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative to support NESEMC’s work to deploy more solar energy throughout the region.

Cotuit Solar, New England Clean Energy, PV Squared, South Mountain Company, and SunPower are sponsors of the forum.