Agenda

Registration and networking breakfast

8:00

Organiser’s Welcome

9:10-9:15

• Adam Barber, Managing Director, The Tamarindo Group

Sponsor’s Welcome & Wind Market Overview

9:15-9:25

• Jatin Sharma, President, GCube Insurance Services

Sponsor’s Welcome & Wind Finance Insights

9:25-9:30

• Ari Pribadi, Managing Director, Marathon Capital

Keynote Speech

9:30-9:45

• Alicia Barton, President & CEO of NYSERDA

The Biggest Issues In US Wind

9:45-10:30

Leaders’ Panel

The US wind sector is in a construction boom. Projects totalling 7GW were completed last year, with almost 29GW now under construction or in advanced development. But there are still big challenges that the sector needs to address to build its potential in the short term and beyond. We will be joined by a panel of top thinkers in the wind industry to discuss topics including:

• What impact is the Trump administration having on wind?
• How are funding structures changing, including tax equity?
• Which types of investors are most active in the market?
• How much more corporate M&A activity should we expect?
• How can firms unlock more corporate demand for wind power?
• Should the US and Canada look to introduce carbon pricing?

Panelists:

• Nick Knapp, President, CohnReznick Capital
• Susan Nickey, Managing Director, Hannon Armstrong
• Declan Flanagan, Founder & CEO, Lincoln Clean Energy
• Steve Lockard, President & CEO, TPI Composites

Moderator:

• Richard Heap, Editor-in-Chief, A Word About Wind

Networking Break

10:30-11:15

Fireside Chat

11:15-11:35

Interviewee:

• Thomas Brostrøm, President, Ørsted North America

Danish utility Ørsted is the world’s leading developer of offshore wind farms, and its entry into the US market in 2015 was a great show of support for the emerging sector. In this fireside talk, the firm’s North American president Thomas Brostrøm, talks about the challenges and opportunities for the development of offshore wind in the US; what investors need to know about this part of the industry; and what the US can learn from Europe and Asia.

Interviewer:

• Adam Barber, Managing Director, The Tamarindo Group

Planning For Life After 2020

11:35-12:20

Leaders’ Panel

The Trump administration has not followed up the president’s fiery anti-wind rhetoric with much in the way of damaging anti-wind policy, and this is helping to sustain a short-term building boom. But bigger challenges are on the horizon. The wind-down of the wind production tax credit continues; the Environmental Protection Agency is being watered down; and Obama’s Clean Power Plan looks set to be repealed.

In this session, experts from across the sector will look at the steps businesses should take now to prepare for life after 2020. Key topics up for discussion include:

• Are companies ready for life after the PTC?
• How can we address transmission challenges?
• How are slim margins affecting company strategies?
• Wind and solar: is the future competition or hybrids?
• How are regulated utilities shaking the wind market?
• What opportunities are there in offshore wind?

Panelists:

• Jatin Sharma, President, GCube Insurance Services
• Rob Freeman, CEO, Tradewind Energy
• Michael Skelly, Founder & President, Clean Line Energy
• Martin Mugica, CEO, Skyline Renewables

Moderator:

• Ja Kao, President, Onyx Renewable Partners

Networking Lunch

12:20-1:30

Sponsored by Tradewind Energy

Fireside Chat

1:30-1:50

Interviewee:

• David Giordano, Managing Director, BlackRock Alternative Investors (BAI)

With more than $5bn of renewables assets under management, BlackRock is a leading institutional investor in the wind and solar sectors. In this session, David Giordano will share his expertise on key investment trends that are shaping the renewable energy market in the US and beyond. In addition, Giordano is becoming chair of the American Council on Renewable Energy in June, and will share his views on what more can be done to accelerate the transition of the US to a renewables-based economy.

Interviewer:

• David Burton, Partner, Mayer Brown LLP

Securing Corporate PPAs

1:50-2:35

Leaders’ Panel

The world’s most influential companies are committed to buying renewables to power their operations, and they prefer wind. Last year, the world’s biggest largest corporate off-takers signed wind PPAs totalling 2.8GW, which represented 87% of the renewable energy they bought, according to BNEF statistics. This is more than half of the 5.5GW wind PPAs signed in the US in 2017.

However, there are big challenges for the industry to overcome if these PPAs are to be used by a wider range of corporates. In this session, a panel of corporates and wind professionals will discuss key topics including:

• What do corporates want from the wind industry?
• What are the challenges to securing wind PPAs?
• How is the utility PPA market changing?
• How are legislative changes affecting these deals?
• How can we help smaller companies sign these deals?
• Can wind maintain its dominance in the coming years?

Panelists:

• Rob Threlkeld, Global Manager of Renewable Energy, General Motors
• Shalini Ramanathan, Vice President of Origination, RES Americas
• John Powers, Vice President of Strategic Renewables, Schneider Electric
• Jacob Susman, Vice President, Head of Origination, EDF Renewables

Moderator:

• Clyde Rankin III, Partner, Baker MacKenzie LLP

Closing Remarks

2:35-2:40

• Adam Barber, Managing Director, The Tamarindo Group

Networking Drinks

2:40-4:00

Close

4:00

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