Opening Ceremony and Conference Sessions Will Preview the Future of the North American Solar Market

SAN FRANCISCO, July 7, 2015 -- Tesla Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer JB Straubel will deliver the keynote address at the Opening Ceremony for Intersolar North America, the most-attended solar industry exhibition and conference dedicated to the North American market. One of the Intersolar North America's most popular events, the Opening Ceremony will be held on Monday, July 13 at 5:30 P.M., in the Grand Ballroom at the InterContinental Hotel. The official opening ceremony will kick off the eighth annual solar trade show in San Francisco.

At the keynote, JB Straubel will introduce Tesla Energy, which provides battery solutions for homes, business and utilities to store solar energy. He'll discuss how energy storage is critical to widespread adoption of solar energy and will ultimately enable a renewable energy economy. His remarks reflect the growing focus on solar-plus-storage solutions at Intersolar. At this year's event, storage is featured in five conference sessions and four technical workshops at InterContinental Hotel / Moscone Center plus a three-day free program at the ees Stage (Moscone West, Level 2, Alcove 2).

Straubel will deliver his remarks alongside an all-star line-up of key solar policymakers and advocates, including Bernadette del Chiaro, the executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA); New York State Sen. Kevin S. Parker, a champion of solar policy in New York; and Professor Dr. Eicke R. Weber, the director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) / Germany. The Opening Ceremony is free to all pre-registered attendees and exhibitors.

Conference Sessions Explore Mechanisms Behind Record Industry Growth

Intersolar North America will also spotlight innovative policies and business models spurring rapid solar industry growth, such as solar leases, the growing popularity of community solar gardens and the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which is set to expire at the end of 2016. The panel "Global PV Markets: Performance at Its Best - North America" will feature six speakers who will talk about what's next for the U.S. and Canadian solar markets. The panel will feature market analysts, representatives from research laboratories and policy groups, and solar industry executives.

Conference sessions will also showcase the increasingly large role in the adoption of solar energy in North America. On Monday, July 13, speakers will provide an overview of the policies and market developments in California, Canada and other locations. In the panel "Energy Storage: Policies and Market Prospects," industry experts and c-level executives will discuss the operational, economical and regulatory challenges facing energy storage deployment. Moderated by James Greenberger, the executive director of NAATBatt International, the session's speakers include analysts from Greentech Media and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, and representatives from the Rocky Mountain Institute and Fronius International GmbH.

The Future of PV/Executive Panel will offer a high-profile discussion featuring executives from leading companies that represent both the upstream and downstream sectors of the solar PV industry. They will share their assessments of technology and performance trends, as well as strategies to reduce manufacturing and system costs. Speakers include Howard Wenger, president Business Units, SunPower Corporation; Dr. Stefan Rinck, chief executive officer, Singulus Technologies AG; Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Canadian Solar; Al Bucknam, chief executive officer, REC Solar; and Minh Le, director of the solar technologies office of the U.S. Department of Energy, who will moderate the discussion. The panel will be held on Wednesday, July 15 at 11:15 A.M. in the InterContinental Hotel.

Registration information for these panels, as well as detailed information on Intersolar North America's full conference program, is available online.

About Intersolar North America

With events spanning four continents, Intersolar is the world's leading exhibition series for the solar industry and its partners. It unites people and companies from around the world with the aim of
increasing the share of solar power in our energy supply.

Since its establishment in 2008, Intersolar North America has become the most attended solar event and the premier networking platform for the North American solar industry. Co-located with SEMICON West, it takes place annually at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California, the United States' pioneering solar market.

The event's exhibition and conference both focus on the areas of photovoltaics, PV production
technologies, energy storage and solar thermal technologies. Since being founded, Intersolar has
become the most important industry platform for manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, service
providers and partners of the global solar industry.

A total of 530 exhibitors and 17,473 trade visitors participated in Intersolar North America in 2014. The conference featured 40 sessions and 25 workshops with more than 200 speakers.

With over 20 years of experience, Intersolar has the unique ability to bring together members of the solar industry from across the world's most influential markets. Intersolar exhibitions and conferences are held in Munich, San Francisco, Mumbai, Beijing and São Paulo. Starting in 2014, these global events will be complemented by the Intersolar Summits, which will take place in emerging and growing markets worldwide.

For more information on Intersolar North America, please visit: www.intersolar.us