Solar Power International (SPI) returns to Las Vegas next week, and we’ll be there too. This year’s event features a change in scenery from previous Vegas SPIs, as the show moves from the old convention center to the shiny Mandalay Bay Convention Center on the south end of The Strip.
Although Inovateus won’t be exhibiting, we will be participating in other ways. Right after arriving in town on Sunday, September 10, we will get ready to head over to the Solar Power World Top Solar Contractors awards gala at Mandalay Bay. We are proud to say that we cracked the top 10 on the trade magazine’s Developers Top 50 list (reaching number 8!) as well as hitting number 36 on the Utility Top 50 and number 43 on the Top 500 overall list. We’re excited to pick up our award and get a chance to rub shoulders and compare notes with the other solar companies at the event.
Our fearless leader T.J. Kanczuzewski will participate in a conference session focusing on strategies for commercial and industrial (C&I) cost reduction through process innovations on Monday, September 11, at 9:30 am. This session will examine contemporary strategies for standardization and efficiency improvement, including sales and engineering software and the use of lean processes in C&I project development.
Nathan Vogel, our director of research, will take part in the Solar Power World Top Solar Contractors panel on Tuesday, September 12, at 1:30 pm at the installers training stage (Booth 4387). The discussion will be centered around the challenges and opportunities facing the utility-scale solar installation community. The panel will address subjects such as the potential impact of the Section 201 trade case (the topic du jour to be sure), trends in utility solar projects, the rising demand for energy storage and its impact on utility systems, and ways to improve and streamline the installation process on big projects.
As with previous shows, we will have a busy meeting schedule. In addition to stoking up our business development efforts and engaging with Fronius, Schletter and other component partners, we’ll be sharing details on the Michigan State University solar carport project. When it’s completed later this year, the 13.5 MWDC MSU project will be the largest of its kind in North America. We’ll also be showing off the Project Profile of our Kokomo Solar 1 project, featured in the new Sep/Oct issue of SolarPro magazine.
On the social front, we are looking forward to the #SPICon 2017 Happy Hour Tweetup on Tuesday, September 12, at 4:30 pm, the annual get-together organized by our friend Tor “Solar Fred” Valenza. Year after year, we enjoy catching up with old friends and colleagues, as well as making new friends at this informal gathering of the more social media-minded of the solar tribe.
We hope that all the positive energy in the solar and storage community that happens at SPI in Vegas, doesn’t stay in Vegas, and sets the tone for the industry in the coming year.
(If you would like to set up a meeting with a member of the Inovateus team, please message me via LinkedIn)
By Mauricio Añon, brand ambassador, Inovateus Solar
