SOLAR 2008: CATCH THE CLEAN ENERGY WAVE

The American Solar Energy Society's SOLAR 2008 (San Diego, May 3-8) is not just another beach party. ASES has been advocating on behalf of solar energy since 1954. This is their 37th annual get together.

ASES will no doubt put on an exciting and entertaining event but this organization goes back to solar energy's early days and its focus is as much scientific as it is informational or professional.

Scheduled speakers range from former presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Gary Hart to film director Chris Paine (Who Killed The Electric Car?) to Julia Blunden of industry giant SunPower Corp.

This is an event everybody from industry insiders to citizens concerned with global climate change to alternative transportation mavens will not willingly miss.

And NewEnergyNews will be there. Come by and say "Hey!"

The American Solar Energy Society’s Solar 2008

WHO
The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) plenary session speakers:
- Conference Opening Plenary: Donna Frye, San Diego City Councilmember; Irene Stillings, Executive Director, California Center for Sustainable Energy; Tom Kimbis, Program Manager, US DOE Solar Energy Technologies Program Office; John Reynolds, Chair, American Solar Energy Society; Tony Haymet, Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Molly Tirpak Sterkel, Supervisor, California Solar Initiative and Distributed Generation Section, California Public Utilities Commission
- Policy and Marketing Solutions: Van Jones, Founder and President, Green for All; Senator Gary Hart, Scholar in Residence at the University of Colorado and Distinguished Fellow at the New America Foundation; Julie Blunden, Vice President, Public Policy and Corporate Communications, SunPower Corporation; Michael Dworkin, Director of the Institute for Energy and the Environment and Professor of Law, Vermont School of Law
…and many, many more!



WHAT
SOLAR 2008, the American Solar Energy Society annual conclave covering everything important in the world of solar energy.

WHEN
- Solar 2008: May 3 through 8, 2008
- ASES was founded in 1954.

Illustration from the American Solar Energy Society's Climate Change paper. (click to enlarge)

WHERE
Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, 500 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, CA 92108
ASES headquarters is Boulder, CO.
ASES is the U.S. affiliate of the International Solar Energy Society

WHY
Descriptions of the plenary sessions:
- Policy and Marketing Solutions: Renewable energy is taking off. With this success comes the need for smart policies and market sustainability…the opening plenary session one [covers] some of the hard issues and innovative strategies…
- Renewable Energy Technology Solutions: …An overview of the current state of the industry, and visions for where the industry will be in 20 years.
- Emerging Architecture: …the San Francisco Federal Building
- Emerging Transportation: The documentary Who killed the electric car? has mainstreamed interest in electric vehicles and has brought attention to the auto industry’s role in delaying the availability of clean renewably powered vehicles. Chris Paine, director of the film, and Chelsea Sexton, one of the main characters in the documentary will speak on their continuing efforts to promote vehicles that can be charged from renewable energy. Steve Heckeroth, Chair, Renewable Fuels and Sustainable Transportation Division will wrap up the plenary with a presentation the many advantages of solar electric mobility.

Few ways to tackle climate change better than solar energy. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Vital new ASES report: Economic and Jobs Impacts of the Renewable and Energy Efficiency Industries
- Vital new ASES report: Tackling Climate Change in the U.S.; Potential U.S. Carbon Emissions Reductions from Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency by 2030