Two inspiring days

Ari Matusiak is the co-founder and CEO of Rewiring America, the market leading organization focused on electrifying everything in our homes, businesses and communities. He is also the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Purpose Venture Group, a boutique social impact advisory and incubator building ventures to address climate and economic inequality. Ari served in the Obama White House as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Private Sector Engagement, was Chief Strategy Officer at Renovate America, and is the Co-Founder of Young Invincibles, a nonprofit delivering economic opportunity to young adults that helped deliver the Affordable Care Act and the ability for young people to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26.

During his keynote session titled “The Importance of Solar for All,” Norton will share his views on the role of solar in creating resiliency and social equality. He will also discuss the importance of distributed energy and how it has come to life through the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust's Chyulu Carbon Project, which he has been supporting for the past 25 years. One of the project’s newest initiatives focuses on building electric vehicle, energy storage, and solar infrastructure in remote parts of Kenya to help protect wildlife.

In support of this cause, Aurora Solar will donate five dollars to this initiative for every person who registers for Empower 2022, up to $25,000, and will match donations, up to an additional $25,000, made to this cause through the Aurora/MWCT GoFundMe page; donate here.

This session is prerecorded to accommodate Edward Norton’s schedule.

This session will bring together a panel of CEOs from leading solar companies to discuss how they're navigating their organizations through inflation, supply chain issues, labor shortages, while still keeping an eye on the big opportunities ahead with the passage of the IRA.

Leading solar companies and two solar associations are coming together to help us understand why the solar industry and electric utilities are constantly on opposite sides. Hint: The solar industry is challenging a 100+ year incumbent — utilities.

We will cover:

• Behind the scenes tactics the electric utilities have been using to keep control over an essential necessity of modern life (electricity) and the sun
• Exciting wins by and for the people, led by advocacy groups like Solar United Neighbors, Solar Rights Alliance, and the Center for Biological Diversity
• What paradigm changes are needed for the public’s interest to finally come first

Keeping up with the growing expectations from modern customers is no easy task. In addition to the obvious promise of solar, they want an easy buying experience, fast response times, a streamlined and quick installation process, and much more. To be able to deliver a world-class customer experience, solar companies will need to rethink their organization structure and processes. In this panel, experts will share how they’re structuring their companies both in terms of teams and processes to make sure they can deliver consistent results as they expand their businesses.

More and more solar installers are expanding their offerings. With the rising interest in the electrification of everything — from EVs to smart thermostats to batteries — adding these products is increasingly becoming more important for installers and necessary for homeowners. Moderated by Peter Gajdos, Climate Tech Partner at 5th Wall, this session will explore the case for a ‘solar plus’ business, including proven benefits from cross-selling, industry trends, and market outlook.

Brandon Higley, Aurora Solar’s Senior Technical Design Specialist, will be leading this Aurora workshop session. We will dive deeper in this hour, covering topics typically not included in our group training sessions; e.g., how to use multi-input components, create cutbacks to model difficult ridge breaks, and dial in pitch by the numbers. If you have any burning ‘how to’ questions, come join us!

With new technologies and innovations emerging at an exponential rate, we can’t help but feel paralyzed by Moore’s Law. What works, and what doesn’t? In this fireside chat, we’ll discuss one company’s path to success and identify the key pitfalls to avoid when executing change management. Join us in taking a deeper look at what transformational change really looks like when evaluating and introducing new digital initiatives and solutions such as AI- and API-driven workflows to your company.

Each conversation will be 5 minutes with the option of extending, exchanging information, or continuing onto the next match. Join this 30 min speed networking session to connect with new people, share ideas, and exchange resources!

Bill Parsons is the Vice President of Federal and State Affairs at American Clean Power. In that capacity, he oversees the federal policy team in Washington, D.C. and state policy team across the country. Prior to joining ACP, Bill was Chief Operating Officer at the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), managing ACORE’s day-to-day operations, including policy, programs, and strategic communications. A 14-year Hill veteran, Bill served as Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for Congressman Chris Van Hollen, where his portfolio included climate, energy, tax, financial services, and the environment. He ran the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus for eight years and was a founding Board Member of the Montgomery County Green Bank. Bill is a graduate of Harvard University and lives in Bethesda, MD.

With the passage of the IRA and attachment rates at an all-time high, battery storage is poised to become an even more integral part of purchasing solar. In order to keep up as demand continues to grow, solar companies will need to overcome new challenges.

In this fireside chat, we'll speak with 2 storage experts about:

• Key challenges towards the adoption of storage at scale
• Innovations in storage hardware & software that will make storage more attractive
• How to position storage to the solar buyer of the future

Dr. Janell Hills is the Director of Workforce Programs at the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), an independent nonprofit working to build the foundation for rapid adoption of clean energy and energy efficiency. She has 15 years of experience in higher education, 12 years of experience in grant administration including development, implementation, and management. Dr. Hills has developed work-based learning and apprenticeship programs for innovative occupations such as pharmacy technician, information technology, and also had the opportunity to enhance the plumber’s apprenticeship program by adding digital plumbing layout design equipment for course implementation. Dr. Hills is an enthusiastic leader who is passionate about education and workforce equity. She thoroughly enjoys working to develop programs for underrepresented and underserved populations and BIPOC communities.

The future of solar starts now, but why is solar marketing stuck in the past? In this session, we’ll hear from leaders in marketing and customer experience about their innovative approaches to customer acquisition. In the age of digital transformation, how can the solar industry turn a new leaf and provide homeowners with a seamless, digital-first experience?

In this session, we’ll talk with market leaders about what used to be (and in some ways still is) a confusing area for both installers and customers — solar financing. We’ll look at common financing pain points, tips to help customers navigate their financing options, and potential opportunities from IRA.

In this session, we’re gathering C&I solar leaders to discuss how they’re building technical and financial resilience against the current state of the economy, and what the passage of the IRA could mean for commercial projects. We will also dive into how they’ve solved some common pain points for developers and customers.

Desmond Pressey, Aurora Solar’s Customer Success Manager, will be leading this HelioScope workshop session. We will dive deeper in this hour, covering topics typically not included in our group training sessions, including: how to produce accurate simulations at scale, ways to customize designs and reports for clients, and answering your burning ‘how to’ questions.

As solar goes mainstream, many jurisdictions have been swamped with permit applications and inspection requests, making the post-sales process a long and painful one for installers and customers alike. This, in turn, has led to increasing innovations in technologies, building codes, and laws. In this session, we'll discuss what each stakeholder can do to help make permitting and post-sales processes as smooth and painless as possible for everyone.