Intersolar North America was my first tradeshow. Bewildered by the bustle, I kept quiet next to my editors, Kathie Zipp and Frank Andorka, as they showed me the ropes. But I did manage to snap a few pictures of industry pros along the way. Here are the unluckiest – those whose faces were actually in-focus – and a little about what what they were doing in San Francisco.
Gianluigi Mascolo is senior product manager at Enecsys, a microinverter manufacturer from the United Kingdom that recently started operations on this side of the Atlantic. Solar Power World also met with company CEO Michael Fister, who tells us that performance standards are more stringent in Germany and Italy, where they sell many of their products – the same products they’ve brought across the pond. “A catalyst of change is when you can see that it can be better,” Fister says.
Ben Higgins, director of government affairs at Mainstream Energy, talked with us about net metering, which is a policy of deducting energy outflows from metered energy inflows. Utility companies are concerned about the phenomenon of cost shift, or who pays for overhead when consumers’ electric bills reach $0. It’s a valid concern, Higgins says, but utilities have framed it in terms of the wealthy versus the less fortunate. “I think solar has done a good job of organizing and beating back this challenge,” Higgins says.
Ron Van Dell is CEO at SolarBridge Technologies, a Texas-based company that announced new products and partners at Intersolar. SolarBridge announced its Pantheon II microinverter and an enhanced management system. Its new partners are ET Solar, Mage Solar, NESL and Talesun Solar, all of whom will offer certified AC modules powered by SolarBridge microinverters. “All solar will eventually go to AC,” Van Dell says.
Christina Bailly is marketing manager at PanelClaw, a Massachusetts-based company that makes solar mounting systems, including their newest, the Kodiak Bear. The Kodiak Bear is for flat-roof commercial installations. Made up of three major components and a single fastener size, it uses ballast blocks and does not require installers to puncture a roof.
SolarEdge brought aboard John Berdner as general manager for North America to widen its presence in the fast-developing solar market here. The company makes distributed DC systems, which it says shorten return on investment. At this year’s Intersolar, the company won an award for its power optimizer, which increases energy throughput from each module.
Kenny Hughes is a sales director for Suniva, a Georgia-based company that makes crystalline silicon solar cells and modules. Grafton recognized the company recently as a “2012 Cool Vendor,” meaning its technology could have a disruptive impact on the market by reducing costs. On a side note: Kenny found my drivers license lying on the show room floor and promptly returned it, saving me a walk home from San Francisco to Akron, Ohio.
Bill Vietas is a division manager at RBI Solar, an Ohio-based solar mounting company that says it can solve any challenge. RBI’s sister company, Protek Park Solar, recently designed, fabricated and installed the metal structures of a four-acre, 1.56 MW array at the Cincinnati Zoo. The system will provide 20% of the zoo’s annual electricity need.
Kathy McConnell is vice president for marketing at GCube Insurance Services, which offers OnePoint Solar Insurance, among other programs. GCube says OnePoint can meet the needs of U.S.-based commercial solar projects from 100kW to 3MW. The company also offers SolarPro, which has insured over 4,000 MW of installations worldwide.
Joseph Viny is national sales director at Ecolibrium Solar, an Ohio company that recently released the Ecofoot 2. Ecolibrium says its the first modular system that combines the benefits of polymer – the company’s specialty – with integrated grounding and wire management. At Intersolar, the company also showed the Ecofoot, which is made of 100% recycled HMWPE materials.
Jyoung says
Thanks Solar Power World for providing great coverage of Intersolar!
Jyoung
Kathie Zipp says
Super cool Steven!
Steve C. Yang, P.E. says
Steven,
Thanks for your posting. I did not see a booth for GCube, but the Assurant’s.
-Steve
Jessica Ker says
GCube has partnered with Assurant for a new solar insurance product and we were supporting their presence at the show. To learn more visit http://www.onepointsolarinsurance.com or http://www.assurantsolar.com