Contributor Kevin Walsh is managing director of power and renewable energy at GE Energy Financial Services.
This week, I joined a few of my colleagues at the first annual “PV America” conference in Philadelphia, the premier photovoltaic-focused conference in the US. The term “photovoltaic” means to make electricity from light — the same thing that Ben Franklin accomplished with his infamous lightning and key experiment many years ago. It seems fitting then, that Philadelphia — the city that Ben Franklin called home — host a conference focused on the solar energy industry and how best to harness the electrical power of the sun’s light.
Let the sunshine in: A solar cell, also called a photovoltaic (PV) cell, is the smallest element that converts light into electrical energy. Each cell is made of silicon like a computer chip. The silicon is treated so that it generates a flow of electricity when light shines on it. Solar modules are simply a series of solar cells wired together.
The solar energy industry is an exciting and increasingly critical place to be, especially as the American government continues to put legislative emphasis on renewable energy. At “PV America,” we were able to explore and plan new ways to deploy the next generation of solar energy technology with industry leaders, policy experts, financial consultants and other industry participants; creating new opportunities for growth and expanding customer relationships.
Catching some rays: GE’s Kevin Walsh at the PV America conference.
For the industry as a whole, solar presents both opportunities and challenges. For my team at GE Energy Financial Services, the growth opportunities in financing solar are boundless. With over $4 billion already invested in renewable energy, GE Energy Financial Services is positioned to be a leader in solar energy investing, putting capital both into projects and solar technology companies. In addition to being clean, reliable and renewable, solar PV’s advantages include low operating costs, on-peak timing of power delivery and the ability to be deployed as a distributed source of power or as a utility central station. Among the challenges: the difficult economic environment, unclear pathways to US government funding and the high cost of solar versus other renewable energy options.
Being at this conference among the many players in this industry, it was evident that customers have a diversity of needs — they need efficient, proven technologies, they need an array of financing options, they need low-cost solar energy and they need a way to distribute it. From these discussions, it became clear that GE’s business linkages give us a significant advantage in solar energy. From our benchmarked engineering knowledge at GE Energy, to our technological expertise at the GE Global Research Center, to our strength of capital at GE Energy Financial Services, GE can offer our customers a breadth of expertise and funding.
At GE, our curiosity in solar energy started with our founder Thomas Edison, who so wisely stated, “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.” If Edison were alive now, he’d be happy to know that’s exactly what we’re doing at GE today — putting our money on the sun and solar energy.
* Learn more about GE Energy Financial Services
* Learn more about our Global Research Center’s renewables work
* Find out more details about the PV America conference
* Visit GE Energy’s solar power Web site
* Visit PV America’s sponsor, the Solar Energy Industries Association
* Read coverage of the conference in Solid State Technology
* Read coverage of remarks by Pennsylvania’s Governor at the conference
* Learn about GE Energy Financial Service’s smart grid investments
