Solar Industry Association Elects New Officers for 2008-2010
Washington, District of Columbia, United States July 25, 2008

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has elected the following officers to serve on SEIA’s board for the next two years:

Chairman Roger Efird, president of Suntech America; Vice Chairman Mark Conroy, operating officer of iEnergies; and Treasurer/Secretary Stephen Hogan, executive vice-president and general manager of Spire Solar, a division of Spire Corp.

“Our new officers bring over 70 years of experience in the solar and renewable energy industry to the organization,” said Rhone Resch, president of SEIA. “Their knowledge and leadership over a wide range of policy issues – including solar tax credits, global warming, Renewable Electricity Standards (RES), and transmission – will be an invaluable resource as SEIA continues its efforts to expand the U.S. market.”

The new officers will serve during a pivotal time for the U.S. solar energy market. This pollution-free renewable energy source has experienced tremendous growth but remains challenged by market uncertainty as Congress expects to take up several major issues that could spur or dampen future prospects.

“Solar energy has proven to be an economic engine for this country, creating tens of thousands of jobs and unleashing billions in investment,” said Roger Efird, new board chairman for SEIA. “A major part of the solar industry’s success has been the increased visibility and expertise of SEIA. The organization has grown into a model trade association with a dedicated and knowledgeable staff. I look forward to continuing the growth of both SEIA and the solar industry over the next two years.”

SEIA’s top policy priority is to pass an 8-year extension of the federal solar tax credits for commercial and residential systems that is credited for the unprecedented growth and scaling up of the industry over the last two and a half years. In 2007, installation of U.S. photovoltaic solar grew by more than 45 percent and the industry had the first utility-scale concentrating solar power plant come online in more than 15 years. Solar hot-water and pool systems continued to grow at a steady pace also.

Additionally, SEIA seeks to include solar carve-outs for any global warming or national RES legislation that the next Congress and Administration debate. As public demand for solar increases – and production costs continue to decrease – solar will soon reach economic parity with other traditional fossil energy sources and be more ubiquitous for millions of American homes and businesses.

Updating America’s outdated energy infrastructure will be another major issue in the coming years. Nowhere is this more evident than with our aging and inadequate electricity transmission infrastructure. Any new transmission infrastructure must be created with renewable energy as the focus, not as an afterthought – especially for solar. With major concentrating solar power projects being proposed and developed across the country, it is vital that we have a transmission grid capable of delivering the pollution free, domestic solar energy these facilities will generate.

SEIA’s new officers bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the organization’s expanding efforts:

· Chairman: Roger Efird, President of Suntech America, is a renewable energy pioneer with over 20 years experience in the solar industry. For 16 years prior to joining Suntech in 2006, Efird served in various senior roles for BP Solar International including Director of Marketing, Director of Global Distribution, and Americas Sales Manager. He is also on the Board of the U.S. Solar Alliance, a group that works with state legislators, regulators, and utilities to make the transition to solar energy. He has a B.S. in sales and marketing from Western Carolina University.

Vice Chairman: Mark Conroy, Operating Officer of iEnergies, with over 28 years of global energy experience with GE and served as General Manager of GE Solar Technologies, one of the major photovoltaic (PV) companies in North America. He was instrumental in the development of a solar-powered water filtration system that GE developed for the 2004 Asian tsunami relief efforts. Conroy attend the University of Delaware and holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering.

· Treasurer/Secretary: Stephen Hogan, Executive Vice-President and General Manager of the Spire Solar Division of Spire Corporation, will continue to serve the SEIA Board as Treasurer/Secretary. In his 25 years with Spire, Hogan has worked to develop new processes and equipment for solar module production, as well as to establish new photovoltaic production facilities around the world. Before working with Spire, he was a member of the technical staff of the Solar Energy Research Institute, now the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in Golden, Colo.

In addition to its new officers, SEIA’s board includes: · Rainer Aringhoff, Solar Millennium · Nancy Bacon, United Solar Ovonic, LLC · Julie Blunden, SunPower Corporation · Gaetan Borgers, Dow Corning Corporation · Matt Cheney, MMA Renewable Ventures, LLC · Richard Chleboski, Evergreen Solar, Inc. · Barry Cinnamon, Akeena Solar · Tom Dyer, Kyocera Solar · Charles Gay, Applied Materials · Rich Glick, Iberdrola Renewables · Holly Gordon, Ausra, Inc. · Matt Guyette, GE Power · Yoshinori Kaido, Sanyo Energy Corporation · Ron Kenedi, Sharp Solar · Steve Kircher, Solar Power, Inc. · Andy Klump, Trina Solar · Kurt Levens, REC Silicon · R. Randall MacEwen, Solar Integrated Technologies, Inc. · Alex Marker, Schott Solar · Anton Milner, Q-Cells AG · Fred Morse, Morse Associates, Inc. · Les Nelson, Western Renewables Group · Christopher O’Brien, Oerlikon · Ryan O’Keefe, FPL Energy, LLC · Santiago Seage, Abengoa · Jigar Shah, Sun Edison · Geoffrey Slevin, BP Solar · Ed Sproull, HSH Nordbank · Kevin Walsh, GE Financial · Kathy Weiss, First Solar, Inc. · Jeffrey Wolfe, groSolar · Raju Yenamandra, Solar World

Source: Solarbuzz