8:00am |
Registration Opens |
9:00am-9:15am |
Conference Opens
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9:00am-9:30am |
Session 6: Welcome & Keynote Presentation The opening session on Day Two will feature a keynote address from a senior level industry executive, considering changing dynamics in the renewable energy markets and providing a context for the day's discussions.
Speakers:
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9:30am-11:00am |
Session 7: East Meets West: Investment Banking Perspectives REFF-West is the only major renewable energy event on the West Coast to bring you up-to-the-minute commentary from both Wall Street and the West. A panel of top energy investment bankers, representing world-leading financial institutions, who are all currently leading major deals, will debate how the financial landscape has changed over the last 12 months and explore what we can expect from the market moving forward, whilst also considering the similarities and differences between investor attitudes on the East and West coasts respectively.
Co-Chairs:
Speakers:
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11:00am-11:30am |
Networking Refreshment Break |
11:30am-1:00pm |
Session 8: Renewable Energy Project Finance Having considered the financing of smaller projects on Day One, we now turn our attention to the financing of major projects, comparing different financial models and their outlooks as we move forward, and their applicability to different renewable energy projects and technologies, including:
- Tax equity and other tax considerations, including improving the attractiveness of U.S. projects to overseas investors
- Risk allocation: Who assumes the risk, and when? Can this be leveraged further to get better rates on your financing?
- Project debt and equity
- Leasing and other project finance structures
- Overall deal structuring, issues and trends
Co-Chairs:
Speakers:
- Jeetu Balchandani, Head, Structured Tax and Renewable Equity Investments, MetLife
- Lance Markowitz , Senior Vice President, Union Bank
- Ric Abel, Managing Director, Prudential Capital Group
- Barney Schauble, Managing Principal, Nephila Advisors
- Terry Grant, Managing Director, Marathon Capital
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1:00pm-2:10pm |
Networking Lunch |
2:10pm-3:40pm |
Session 9: Developers' Viewpoints – What's happening on the ground? This session, specifically focused on West Coast developers and across a range of renewable energy technologies, will debate the challenges they faced in achieving success, and give you practical advice on how you can guarantee the bankability of your projects. Issues discussed will include:
- Developing projects successfully – What financing is attractive to developers, and what projects are attractive to investors?
- The notion of energy efficiency and its application to existing projects to improve margins
- Rooftop vs. large-scale solar installations
- Managing risk effectively – How can you protect yourself from unforeseen situations?
Chair:
Speakers:
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3:40pm-4:00pm |
Networking Refreshment Break |
4:00pm-5:00pm |
Session 10: Broadening the Debate – New Financial Structures For The Future This new session for REFF-West will focus on the broadening applications of renewable energy technology and the wider infrastructure investment picture. Topics for discussion include:
- Attracting pension funds and sovereign wealth funds to major infrastructure projects – How are their investment attitudes different and how can they be complementary to other investment classes?
- Clean transportation – Where do electric cars and other clean transportation initiatives fit into the renewable energy landscape and how is the approach to this class of projects different?
- Will project bonds encourage investment in infrastructure projects?
- The scale-up of transmission assets and the smart grid – Are we moving towards grid parity?
- Structuring infrastructure deals – How are they different from other renewable energy projects and what opportunities are there for partnering within this space?
Chair:
Speakers:
- Luka Erceg, Founder, President & CEO, Simbol Materials
- Rick Needham, Director of Energy & Sustainability, Google Inc.
- Alex Keros, Senior Project Engineer, General Motors
- Brad Copithorne, Director of Financial Innovation, Energy Program, Environmental Defense Fund
- John Bohn, Chief Executive Officer of Renewable Energy Trust Capital, Inc
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5:00pm-5:30pm |
Session 11: All of the Above: Competing Visions for Renewable Energy in the 2012 Election
This moderated and well-informed discussion will highlight key differences in how the Presidential candidates propose to meet America's future energy needs. Delegates will come away with a much better understanding of the essential role that renewable energy will, or will not, play in a more diversified energy portfolio for both transportation and power generation.
Chair:
- Gregory Dalton, Vice President of Special Projects & Director of Climate One Project,The Commonwealth Club of California
Speakers:
- Jeremy Carl, Research Fellow, Hoover Institution
- Dan Reicher, Executive Director, Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, Stanford University
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5:30pm |
Closing Remarks
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5:35pm |
Close of REFF-West 2012 |