Intersolar and ees North America Feature Innovations from Across the Clean Energy Sector

Intersolar and ees North America, the premier solar and energy storage events in North America, featured riveting discussions between industry pioneers in San Francisco during its eleventh annual event. The co-located exhibitions, including SEMICON West, attracted more than 14,000 attendees from around 60 countries and 433 exhibitors, and the high-level conferences featured 35 sessions and 12 workshops, including four sessions focused on e-mobility technologies and market trends during the new Power2Drive track.

Conference sessions, exhibition stage presentations, workshops and conversations on the exhibition floor were all dominated by the same key theme: the intersection where clean energy technologies meet will give way to a treasure trove of new service opportunities and enable a more sustainable, reliable and resilient energy mix for future generations. Keynote speakers Dr. Elaine Ulrich, Ph.D., senior advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and Silicon Valley entrepreneur and author Tony Seba emphasize this message of cross-industry collaboration and convergence dominated this year's standing-room-only Opening Ceremony.

After a year of political uncertainty in the North American market, the speakers delivered comments that offered a bold and optimistic take on the future for solar and storage technologies, and reminded attendees of the industries' accomplishments and long history of innovation. Dr. Ulrich discussed how the solar industry has surpassed the expectations set by the initial SunShot initiative and emphasized how solar and energy storage will need to evolve together in order to address complex issues in the broader market. Mr. Seba's discussion of the convergence of disruptive technologies including solar, energy storage, ride-sharing platforms and autonomous vehicles sparked excitement in the audience, which was exhibited throughout Moscone West.

"Intersolar and ees North America continually evolve to address the most important trends affecting the clean energy industry," said Dr. Florian Wessendorf, managing director of Intersolar and ees global conferences and exhibitions in North America, South America and India. "We were the first event to recognize the value of coupling solar and storage in conference sessions and on the exhibition floor, and we see further opportunities to expand our focus to include grid-edge innovations and e-mobility. Our goal has always been to provide a platform that facilitates important conversations and creates meaningful business connections. We look forward to continuing that tradition next year, with the all-new Power2Drive special exhibit."

Over three days of the two exhibitions, 433 companies displayed the latest technologies expanding the reach of U.S. clean energy in six exhibition segments. They debuted new products, networked with companies across the solar supply chain, and met potential customers.

"Intersolar is one of our favorite trade shows," said Marion Wellington, growth marketer for Aurora Solar. "As a solar tech startup, we rarely get to see solar installers in person, so it's a great opportunity for us to get to know the people we're trying to serve. Plus, having it in our backyard allows for everybody from the company to come see the solar industry live!"

"ees North America's exhibition was an excellent platform for the EnSync Energy team to debut our new residential solar-plus-storage system and peer-to-peer energy exchange," said Brad Hansen, president and CEO of EnSync Energy Systems. "With the show's increasing focus on the overlap of solar and energy storage, this was a valuable opportunity for our company to interactively showcase our technologies and foster strong connections with hundreds of potential customers and partners."

In the heart of the show floor, attendees packed seats at the ees and Innovation & Application stages to gain an understanding of new technology solutions hitting the market. The free presentations included product demonstrations, presentations from the Intersolar, ees, and Smarter E AWARD finalists and winners, and case studies of the most important projects of 2017. Additionally, the stages hosted several special events, including the release of a new white paper from GTM Research on grid-edge innovation, available for download online.

Workshops targeting contractors and developers were especially well attended, including the fifth annual Contractor Day, an all-day event hosted by Intersolar and the California Solar and Storage Association (CALSSA). The popular event provided a variety of technical workshops that prepared contractors and developers with industry-best installation practices while providing opportunities to earn 4 NABCEP Continued Education (CE) Credits. Six additional NABCEP workshops provided more opportunities for solar and storage practitioners to practice their skill and earn NABCEP credits.