Arne Jacobson
Hello from Washington, DC, where I just attended the White House Forum on Catalyzing Markets for Off-Grid Clean Energy Access. The session involved a lively round table forum with participation from government, industry, investors, foundations, and development agencies. It also included a technology showcase attended by high-level administration officials. It is exciting to see off-grid energy access receive this attention. The fact that the event was held is a testament to the growing recognition of the linkage between energy access and poverty alleviation and to the recent growth of the off-grid solar sector.
I am now headed to Dubai for the 4th International Off-Grid Lighting Conference and Exhibition, which will be attended by over 450 delegates from around the world. SERC will be well represented at the conference, with three current staff members and three SERC alumni joining me at the event. Our collective work will be featured at the conference, including presentations on quality assurance for off-grid solar, the market implications of key technology advances in the sector, and the role of super-efficient DC appliances in enabling cost reductions for off-grid products. It will be a busy week.
Back at SERC, we have been busy on a number of fronts, including the kickoff of our microgrid collaboration, the Waste-to-Wisdom biomass project, and a host of clean transportation efforts. Over the past few months, we also added six new team members, including Pramod Singh, Steve Harrison, Jake Rada, Julie Groff, Lukas Kennedy, and Jeff Mosbacher. I am very pleased to be able to welcome them to SERC.
Goodbye until next time.
