Soft costs represent the most flexible aspect of solar project finance, yet they continue to consume outsize sums of cash—up to 64% of the total project cost, according to the DOE.
Fortunately, industry innovators are finding ways to reduce soft costs. Attend this webinar to learn four such strategies, including:
- How solar companies can reduce financing costs through standardization and automation technology, particularly in the C&I sector.
- How in-depth training reduces installation soft costs.
- How creating and maintaining solar opportunities within local communities can reduce soft costs.
- How solar software tools, techniques and workflows can accelerate proposal-to-project speed while shrinking costs.
Featured Speakers
Chad Laurent, Esq., Senior Consultant and General Counsel, Meister Consultants Group
Chad specializes in renewable energy law and policy, sustainable business strategies and renewable energy project development. He is a nationally recognized expert in solar PV soft cost reduction strategies, currently working with the U.S. Dept. of Energy. He holds a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School where he was a Rappaport Honors Fellow in Law and Public Policy, and a B.S. from the University of Michigan in Environmental Policy & Behavior and Natural Resource Ecology & Management. He is admitted to the Massachusetts Bar.
Paul Grana, Co-Founder, Folsom Labs
Paul is responsible for sales and marketing at Folsom Labs. His passion for data analysis began at an early age. At 13 he cracked his first code, figuring out the cheat codes for Madden ’94. Paul began his professional career in management consulting and later joined the solar industry, where he ran product management for Tigo Energy, the module-level electronics manufacturer, before co-founding Folsom Labs, which develops the advanced PV system design tool HelioScope. Paul holds an SB in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Chicago, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Kathy Swartz, Executive Director, Solar Energy International
Kathy is honored to serve as SEI’s Executive Director, even more so because she is one of more than 45,000 alumni of SEI. She took her first PV class in 2004, which kickstarted her career in solar. With a background in environmental education, Kathy’s goal is to ensure that SEI’s Training Program prepares participants with the knowledge and hands-on experiences needed to safely and successfully work with renewable energy systems.
Graham Smith, CEO and Founder, Open Energy Group
Graham has over 15 years of experience in renewable energy finance and building capital markets brokerage platforms. He founded Open Energy in 2013 to unlock financial technology innovation and drive increased debt financing in commercial solar. Prior to Open Energy, he founded two brokerage firms – Axiom Global in 2004 and Phoenix Partners Group in 2006, co-running the latter for seven years. Graham studied at both the University of Cambridge and University College in London.
Sponsored by:
Aurora Solar
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