A Ubiquitous Solar America – More than a Dream

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#solar energy #sustainability #domestic production

Dr. Markus Beck has a dream of a clean energy future where every American has the chance to participate in the clean energy economy, where we respect our planet and our citizens, and value the role energy plays in our lives. The concepts Dr. Beck will present are not radical, but rather rational. He has chosen to present a top-down view -- demand to supply -- while it is equally valid to consider a bottom-up perspective. Besides outlining policy instruments that can facilitate the repatriation of the PV manufacturing industry and supply chain, Dr. Beck will go into more specifics for some of the existing constraints and the resources required to accomplish this ambitious task.

BIO: Dr. Markus Beck is an innovator and strategist with 20 years of senior and executive R&D, project & operations management expertise in the renewable energy (RE) industry, and has been recognized as one of the top thin-film photovoltaic technologists in the world. His career in PV spans over three decades and Dr. Beck helped build the U.S. PV manufacturing industry in his roles as CTO at Violet Power, Siva Power, Chief Technologist at First Solar, CTO at Solyndra, and senior scientist at Global Solar Energy. He also served as Vice President of the PV Development Team at Samsung.

In addition to his industry tenure, Dr. Beck held a research sabbatical at NREL as well as a research scientist position at the Hahn-Meitner Institut and a postdoctoral fellowship at NREL. He has advised global companies in the RE sector on technology and business-related aspects, and sees significant synergies between the proliferation of RE, hydrogen & battery storage, intelligent energy network interactions through advanced software integration, transformation of the transportation sector to battery and fuel cell based electric vehicles, as well as energy-efficient construction, in creating greater value for society. Recently, Dr. Beck joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office as Program Manager for Manufacturing and Competitiveness.

Dr. Beck holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Guelph, and has been awarded over a dozen scholarships and awards in the field of PV research and manufacturing. He is the primary inventor on 22 patents. As a subject-matter expert of ANSI US-TAG and IEC TC82 WG2, he is actively engaged in global PV-standards activities. Dr. Beck has served on numerous DOE PV review boards and chaired the IEEE Santa Clara Valley PV Chapter from 2013–2015. He is a subject-matter expert for the peer-reviewed journals Thin Solid Films and Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, and in 2012 was appointed to the editorial board of the latter.

48:18 + Q&A. USA solar energy policy, carbon footprint, clean energy economy, GW scale, domestic manufacturing industry, supply chain, existing constraints, resources, timeline.

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