By 9:00 a.m. more than 160 participants were in attendance.

Welcome address was given by Dr. Jonathan Gibralter, President, Farmingdale State University of New York who called upon all participants to exchange ideas to promote solar energy and to evolve strategies to overcome barriers. He assured the audience that the college through the Solar Energy Center (SEC) would be an effective conduit for all issues on solar energy and other alternative forms of energy. He cited the various projects undertaken by the College and called upon the companies to collaborate with Farmingdale State University.

Honorable Steve Levy, Suffolk County Executive addressed the conference participants briefly. He outlined how the use of solar energy was popular when tax credits and other incentives were present in the 1970s. How the general public became complacent after the incentives and tax credits were removed. Also, he cited how important it is at the current juncture to focus on Renewable Energy. He mentioned that it is a matter of policy and not Technology any more. He indicated in the Suffolk County Government he is trying to create one department of Environment and Energy to focus on the energy issues. He mentioned that though the county may not be able to allocate more funds it will make every effort to encourage energy conservation and use of renewable energy.

The Keynote speaker was Joel Gordes Executive Vice President of New York Solar Energy Industries Association. In a speech of far reaching dimensions he brought home the point that why use of renewable energy make sense at the present point in time from the point of view of Energy Security, National Security, Environmental Security and other factors.

At this stage the moderator of the conference Richard Michaud of the Department of Energy Boston Regional Office was introduced.

The next speaker was Sharon Laudisi of LIPA. She is the Manager of Clean Energy Programs at LIPA. She discussed the various programs and commitment of LIPA in meeting the Long Island Solar Roofs Initiative goals. She stressed the importance of energy conservation in the success of all the clean energy programs.

Tom Leyden Vice President of Power Light Inc spoke of the large scale PV systems with very specific examples. He gave a quick overview of the growth of the solar industry and how they have addressed the different problems in the past several years. He stressed the importance of making appropriate policy changes at every policy making level to grow this industry at an accelerated rate.

At this stage the participants were asked to attend the breakout sessions of their choice. The breakout sessions started after a small break and visit to Vendor displays.

The breakout sessions in the morning were:

PV 101 and Licensing issues in Suffolk County led by Dr. Gay Canough of ETM Solar Works. (Conducted in room 111)

NABCEP Certification given by Pete Sheehan of NABCEP (Conducted in Room 109)

Combining Energy Star, PV and Energy Efficiency in the Home led by Frank Champitto of New York State Builders Association (NYSBA) (Conducted in Little Theater.

All the breakout sessions were of 75 minute duration. Details of these sessions are given below.

PV 101 and Licensing issues in Suffolk County:

11:00 am - 12:15 pm

Dr. Gay Canough, founder of Extraterrestrial Materials, Inc..(ETM Solar
Works) made a 45 minutes presentation on the basics of PV installation. She
also touched upon interconnection issues in New York state and gave examples
of some of the residential and commercial installations. There was good discussion on the technology issues from the audience.

MR. William J. Baessler, Director of the Bureau of Licensing from the Suffolk
County Consumer Affairs, gave a 15 minute talk on Licensing procedures for the
PV installers in the Suffolk county. He answered related questions on these
issues.
There were about 45 conference attendees at this session.

11:00 am - 12:15 pm

Pete Sheehan, Executive director of NABCEP, made a presentation to 15 conference attendees and discussed the PV certification requirements and what it means to the PV industry. The details for PV installation certification requirements are posted at:

To apply for certification, go to:

This session was attended by more than 30 people.

The speakers during this session were Frank Champitto of NYSBA, Kevin Harrison New York Energy Star Labeled Homes Programs Manager and Mark Smith Prime Energy Technologies. The main presentation was made by Mr. Champitto. The high lights of his presentation were features of Energy Star program, how it is adopted for energy star buildings, how performance of buildings are assessed for energy star rating, what are the incentives available, what are the savings and benefits from this program etc. He covered different components of a residential building. He emphasized energy conservation in addition to use of Solar Electric and radiant heating.

Mark Smith in his brief presentation highlighted the advantages of the program and how builders can adapt to the new rating system. He also cited the disadvantages of the program.

Some of the discussions from the audience included the scenario that after all steps are taken for achieving energy star rating and finally it fails to meet the standards. The response was that situation is a rarity since the independent testing and the builders coordinate the activities at all time. The other question was the non inclusion of Solar Thermal systems to improve the energy star rating. The response was that since no rebates are incentives are available at this time that aspect has not been incorporated. But including solar thermal systems is a very welcome idea.

Kevin Harrison of LIPA mentioned the highlights of LIPA energy star program and mentioned that the program in LIPA is still in the infancy.

These sessions were followed by a lunch break and visit to vendor displays

The afternoon breakout session consisted of the following.

Architectural and Design Issues for PV presented by Steven Strong of Solar Design Associates. (Conducted in room 111)

LI Shines Automated Internet Response System - Overview presented by Gordian Raacke of Renewable Energy Long Island..(Conducted in Room 109)

Green Pricing presented by Mel Jones of Sterling Planet. (Conducted in Little Theater)

All the breakout sessions were of 75 minute duration. Details of these sessions are given below.

1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.

MR. Steven Strong, president of Solar Design Associates, gave a very
interesting visual presentation on Architectural and design issues for Photo
Voltaic installation. He gave very interesting examples of these designs from
installations in the United States, Japan and Europe. In each case he
described advantages and disadvantages of such designs.

There were about 55 conference attendees at this session. Most of them were PV
installers. There was also a good number of architects. Those who attended this session were awarded a one continuing education unit.

1:30 am - 2:45 pm

The executive director of LIShines/ Renewable Energy Long Island, Gordian Raacke explained the beta testing version of AIRS (Automated Inquiry Response System) to 20 conference attendees, 5 of whom were the PV installers/electricians. Mr. Raacke indicated that the initial participation of all the local PV installers in testing this program will free of charge and it will be a good marketing tool for installers. The program can be tested by any consumer who is planning to install PV system in his/her residence. The web site for AIRS will be located at:

This session was attended by nearly 20 people. The speaker was Mel Jones President of Sterling Planet a company which has pioneered Green Pricing in the whole country. He gave a historical perspective of green pricing and discussed the various methodologies used in different parts of the country. He cited different programs and their features in promoting green energy. He gave specific examples of Green Credits and their trading and monitoring. He mentioned that New Jersey apart from California has a big program by the utility companies on green credits. He discussed the value of different sources of green energy like wind, hydro, and solar.

He discussed how green cooperatives as a group can benefit compared to smaller residential units.

Discussion in this session was minimal.

Conclusion:

Prof. Dathatri of Farmingdale Solar Energy Center thanked everyone for making the conference a success. He specifically thanked, Richard Michaud of DOE, Prof. Elgun and Prof. Marjeneh Issapour, Carolyn Jaskot of LIPA and Kathleen Whitley of Applied Energy Group and Gordian Raacke of Renewable Energy Long Island. He thanked all the Mega Sponsors, Sponsors and vendors for participating and making available their products and services for the benefit of all the attendees of the conference.

The audience wanted the future conference to involve more diverse group of people to be involved. They also wanted more specific sessions on uniform permitting process. They suggested small group discussion of topics of interest to individuals using breakout sessions dealing with technical issues.

The conference concluded but still many were visiting the vendor displays.

Vendors: A list of vendors who participated in the conference is attached separately. We are very thankful to all the vendors for their presence.

Solar Energy Center SUNY Farmingdale

Mega Sponsors: LIPA Clean Energy Initiative and SMA America Inc.

Sponsor: Spectra Solar Inc.

More Technical sessions

More technical information related to design, installation, and wind loading

More vendors

More tutorial type content

I thought this was a great workshop. Put out recycling containers, turn off lights when day lighting suffices. (Try to practice what is preached)

Need some booths for more than just sales; possibly education

Please get the word out more for next year

Great Lunch but need to use paper plates rather than plastic. Recycling of cans and bottles is essential if you are trying to be green

Great presentation by Steven Strong and Tom Leyden