Solarplaza Summit | Asset Management Europe

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Berto Martins is currently Director for Electricity Markets at EDP S.A. He is 53 years old, born and raised in Lisbon but with an academic degree completed at the Oporto University in 1990.In this same year, joined EDP to work at the National Dispatch for the Electric System and after some years moved to the System Optimization and Commercial Operations Division until 2002.When the liberalization process of the energy sector started in Portugal he moved to the team that created the Energy Management Division at EDP, implementing IT and business procedures for all Trading activities. EDP´s Electricity Markets Division is responsible for the management of the whole generation portfolio in the Iberian Market. Besides real-time optimization, these tasks include also Short/Medium Term Planning, Outages coordination, Bidding strategies on both Energy and Ancillary Services markets and real-time coordination with the Portuguese TSO.

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Pritil is a Director with Guidehouse Insights leading the Technologies Insights solutions. Pritil advises global clients on renewable energy outlooks, distributed energy business strategy, technology market assessments, and mergers and acquisitions. With more than 18 years of experience as a researcher and consultant, Pritil’s experience includes qualitative and quantitative research projects for global clients. Prior to joining Guidehouse, Pritil designed and implemented market assessment models across multi-client energy projects across global consulting firms. She is fluent in Hindi and English, and holds an MBA.

Antonio Domínguez joined Quintas Energy in 2014 as an associate in the company’s Asset Management department. After becoming contract manager, he moved on to a Senior Analyst position within Quintas Analytics, before his promotion to Head of Analytics in 2021. Antonio graduated from the University of Pablo de Olavide in 2015, with a twin degree in Law and Business Administration. He went on to gain further qualifications in these subjects from Washington & Jefferson College in the USA, the Catholic University of Lyon, and Universidad Francisco de Vitoria in Madrid. As Head of Analytics, he has overall responsibility for the business unit’s activities, as well as for implementing business intelligence tools, developing process automation solutions, creating bespoke interactive reports for clients, and overseeing digitization projects within the renewable energy industry.

Maite Sanchez has over 13 years of experience working in renewable energies. Currently, she holds accountability for Glennmont Fund III assets, as part of the Commercial Asset Management Team, with significant involvement in solar and offshore wind projects. Previously, she managed a large part of Cubico’s portfolio of wind and solar assets in the UK, where she was responsible for overseeing the commercial, contractual, technical, and legal aspects, either independently or with the support of internal or external specialist teams and advisors as needed. She also served as an asset manager for two Concentrated Solar Power plants in Spain, where she enhanced her analytic skills and proficiency in multidisciplinary problem-solving. This experience has been instrumental in her success in assuming the exposure and responsibility of being the Director of the SPVs she manages in her current role. Maite values learning from others and enjoys working in diverse teams, while also taking pride in having a voice of her own. She has experience in aiding the development of more junior team members, either functionally or through a direct reporting line. She thrives when faced with new challenges, thanks to her self-sufficiency, resilience, eagerness to learn, and strong academic background.

Luca Matrone is a seasoned manager with more than 25 years of corporate finance experience in the global energy space. Since 2017 he is the Head of Industry Energy in the Global Corporate department of the IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division of Intesa Sanpaolo, the largest bank in Italy and one of the largest bank in Europe. Luca is responsible for coordinating the coverage and the commercial efforts vis-a-vis approximately 400 companies operating worldwide in the Power & Utilities and in the Oil & Gas sectors. Luca was formerly the head of Energy in the M&A team of Banca IMI, the investment banking arm of Intesa Sanpaolo group, that he joined in 2000. Luca serves as Vice-Chair in the Environment and Energy committee of the Business at OECD. He was a member of the Energy/Sustainability taskforces at B20 Saudi Arabia, B20 Italy, B20 Indonesia, B20 India and he is currently a member of the Energy Transition & Climate Task Force at B20 Brazil. Luca is a regular contributor to articles in the press related to energy themes and he has been invited to speak at several conferences organized by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, Assoprevidenza, ANIE, Elettricità Futura, AGICI, Cesef, Solarplaza, Europe Solar + Energy Storage, Solar Media. Luca graduated in Business Administration from Bocconi University in 1998.

Jörg Althaus is a business professional with >20 years of high-level experience in the solar industry. He is highly focused on quality, reliability and technical risk mitigation for photovoltaic assets. Before joining CEA Mr. Althaus held various positions at TÜV Rheinland, a leading Testing, Inspection, Certification body in the solar industry. His roles included profit & loss responsibility for the PV and energy storage teams in Germany and the India, Middle East, Africa region as well as business development and key account responsibilities. Between 2019 and 2021 he was responsible for the strategy development and achievement for TÜV Rheinland’s global PV Power Plant business. As a technical expert, he was project leader on various standards within the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Technical Committee 82 focusing on PV module test standards. He also was a technical auditor for the CB scheme within IECEE auditing multiple PV laboratories around the world. Mr.Althaus is an active member in the SolarPower Europe industry association and contributed in various work streams.

With an innate curiosity about how things work, Jonathan is always looking to learn and understand new subject areas. This has translated into an ability to quickly grasp problems and to be able to formulate and clearly communicate pragmatic solutions. Specialties: Areas of Interest: Operations Research, Sustainability, Energy, Energy Conservation and Demand Management, Energy Efficiency, Product Development, Process Improvement, Management Consulting & Business Strategy.

Verity is a Visual Storyteller who uses live illustration and animation to help her clients communicate with engaging visuals, making sure their messages resonate with their audiences - be it customers, employees, or followers. Verity enables clients to optimise time and resources using visual thinking as a starting point. It has been proved that when visuals are used there is a much higher probability that messages will be remembered for much longer. With a degree in design and a rich track record of over twenty years of commercial experience with multinational companies in Spain and the United Kingdom, Verity's got the creative and practical know-how to bring any story to life. She's also a part of the teaching staff at the IDDA - Instituto de Desarrollo Directivo del Atlántico (Atlantic Management Development Institute) in Las Palmas where she shares her knowledge and passion for Visual Storytelling and Design Thinking.

Matthew has worked in the renewables industry for 15 years, with the last 9 years working specifically in the solar investment management space. His work in this period has involved delivering in excess of 800MWp of ground mounted and rooftop solar PV portfolios, as well as the acquisition and growth of 'energy transition' businesses. His current role as Senior Commercial Asset Manager within Octopus Energy, has a focus on driving and implementing improved industry standards for all new solar assets across the UK, Europe, the US and Asia, with specific expertise in last mile development, contracting, technical precedents and project assumptions. Matthew is a member of the 'Standards and Certification' steering group, for leading UK industry body SEUK.

With 20 years + at the forefront of the renewable energy sector, Antoni Beltran has spearheaded the global transition towards a sustainable future. His leadership has been instrumental in developing, executing, and expanding solar PV and wind businesses across diverse regions including North Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Europe. As a dedicated family man, his drive extends beyond professional achievements, aiming to leave a lasting legacy of a 100% renewable-powered world for future generations.

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Shaheer Hussam is an American energy sector executive with 19 years of experience in Europe, the U.S., & Latin America. Mr. Hussam is a graduate in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a Burchard Scholar.

Versatile and driven energy industry professional with 21 years of experience in business development, project management, engineering, corporate development and M&A. Broad exposure to and vast network in Asia’s emerging markets after having lived and worked in Malaysia, Cambodia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand for over 11 years. Combines strong analytical skills with emotional intelligence to come up with valuable commercial and strategic insights. Known for forging meaningful relationships in and across teams through authenticity and candor. Excels when given autonomy and ownership to lead teams in a results-oriented environment by delivering innovative solutions for complex problems. True passion for climate change, the energy transition and global sustainability.

Versatile product manager, with validated skills in ideation, discovery and strategic processes. Fluent communicator and storyteller in 5 languages. A firm believer in the principles of Data > Opinion and Value > Feature. Entrepreneur-minded thinking and always considering the business output of any product-related decision-making on the bottom line.

Right after passing exams as electrical engineer at RWTH Aachen University 1995 Heiner Breuer cofounded abakus solar AG and helped to develop the company from startup to an internationally acknowledged EPC and O&M service provider with a clear focus on high-quality solar PV assets. On the management board Heiner always had a focus on technology-related responsibilities like system development, engineering, quality control and asset management added with entrepreneurial aspects like sales, contract negotiations and stakeholder communication. In 2016 ENcome Energy Performance acquired abakus where he acted as CTO. From 2019 Heiner supported Edify Energy in Australia, focusing on utility-scale solar plus storage plants, as Technical Director. As of 2021 he is engaged as Senior Technical Expert as Obton, where he is leading the efforts to design future-proof “Solar+” power stations.

Christine Lins works as Executive Director of GWNET, the Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition, which aims at empowering women in the sustainable energy sector. GWNET has more than 3.500 members from 150+ countries. Furthermore, she is Member of the Board of Directors of ISES, the International Solar Energy Society. From July 2011 until March 2018, Christine Lins acted as Executive Secretary of REN21, the Renewable Energy Policy Network of the 21st Century, headquartered at UNEP, the United Nations Environment Programme in Paris/France. Between 2001 and 2011, Ms. Lins served as Secretary General of the European Renewable Energy Council. Previously, she worked in a regional energy agency in Austria promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. Ms. Lins holds a Master’s degree in international economics and applied languages. She has more than 25 years of working experience in the field of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency.

Dr. Robin Hirschl studied physics in Vienna, Austria, and Lyon, France, and holds a PhD in Computational Materials Science from Vienna University. He started his career at Booz Allen Hamilton (today Strategy&), joining the European Utilities Team, where he led energy projects throughout Europe as Senior Project Manager.

Niklas Will, CFA is Head of Operations Solar Central Europe at Encavis AG since 2020. In total Niklas has seven years of experience in the renewable energy industry. In his role he is responsible for the Asset Management of a 500 MWp portfolio of operational ground mounted solar assets. The portfolio comprises both subsidy-based and non-subsidy-based assets in the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden. In the management of the 50 companies, his focus is on operational excellence for each SPV. Before he moved into the renewables sector Niklas gained substantial experience in the auditing sector in Germany for four years incl. a secondment at Cooper Parry in the UK. Niklas holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA) in which he specialized in finance. His profound interest in finance led Niklas to pursue the CFA Charter, which he was awarded in 2022. Since then, he is actively involved in the CFA Society Germany.

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Jan Fousek is CEO of the Association for Energy Storage AKU-BAT CZ, which supports the development of energy storage, production of hydrogen, flexibility aggregation, building of infrastructure for e- mobility and overall modernization of the Czech energy and industry sector. Jan Fousek acts also as the Chairman of the Board in Solar Association and as the Member of the Board in Modern Energy Union (Svaz moderni energetiky). He has been active in the energy markets since 2007. In the years 2011-2016, he was co-owner and managing director of one of the largest European trading houses with emission allowances and electricity, Virtuse Energy.

Christian is the Managing Partner of Ernst Burghardt Assekuranzmakler GmbH. He is specialized in insuring international infrastructure & renewable energy projects in order to obtain the financing commitment from a bank or investor. As a global independent insurance broker, he has more than 20 years of experience, industry-specific expertise and detailed knowledge of the world's insurance markets. His career began at AON plc, London - the world's largest industrial insurance broker. Before joining Ernst Burghardt Assekuranzmakler GmbH, he was Managing Director of one of Europe's leading insurance brokers for renewable energy. His extensive insurance expertise is based on insuring international renewable energy projects of more than 5 GW capacity, which he accompanies during the development, construction & operation phases in more than 15 countries worldwide - mainly in the solar and onshore & offshore wind sectors. Moreover, he has been active as an official Lenders Insurance Advisor for banks, investors & project developers with large, international project portfolios for over 10 years. Christian has a university degree in Business Administration, a qualification as an international industrial insurance broker and holds a university certificate as an expert in offshore wind energy.

Jan Krcmar is the Executive director of the Czech Solar Association and a renewable energy consultant. Before taking over the management of the solar association in 2022 he was the chairman of the board for three years, overseeing topics such as new large-scale PV projects, subsidies and investment protection. Before that he was the communications director for Photon Energy NV, an international PV IPP.

Charles Lesser is Partner and Head of Apricum’s UK office and heads Apricum’s global Transaction Advisory practice. Across 25 years of energy investment banking, he has won numerous awards advising companies from Series A to FTSE 100 on corporate and asset M&A or equity financing, and has deep ties with institutional investors. He has a passion for energy storage, merchant risk and creating long-term partnerships. He previously headed EMEA energy investment banking at Macquarie.

Leticia is a legal professional with over a decade of experience in complex banking transactions, regulatory analysis, and sustainable finance. As the Director of Sustainable Finance Advisory at Sustainable Capital Group, she leads experts in advising companies and investors on sustainability disclosures, emphasizing the application of the EU Sustainable Finance regulation. Leticia possesses profound knowledge of SFDR and EU Taxonomy, using regulation to leverage the impact of both companies and investors. Prior her focus on sustainable finance, she garnered over 5 years of experience in diverse banking operations both in Brazil and in the international context, including mergers & acquisitions, project finance, capital markets, and debt/corporate restructuring.

Tomaso Charlemont graduated from the Technical Naval Institute (Genoa, Italy). He is an executive with over three decades of experience in Business Development and Supply Chain. After more than 20 years in the fields of data communication, he embraced a second career in renewables in 2008. Over the past 13 years Tomaso developed and consolidated his experience in this latter field of activity joining PV inverter OEMs Satcon and Chint Power Systems, WTG manufacturer and EPC Vergnet and British renewables developer RES. More recently, he joined BayWa r.e. where he coordinates the development of the Solar PV Revamping and Repowering business across the EMEA Region.

Andreas is Member of the BoD Obton Group Holding A/S, Partner and Co-head of acquisitions and financing at Obton A/S. He joined Obton as employee nr. 5 at Obton 11 years ago, which now counts over 300 people. Previously, Andreas has served as Board Member for Koncenton from 2016 to 2021. He is involved in solar since 2009.

Mr. Stefan Müller is the co-founder, shareholder of Enerparc AG, and since end of 2008, a board member he was responsible for the international and operational business. Following his diploma thesis in 1992 in solar energy, he gained international experience in different roles and various countries. Enerparc is an international specialist in the whole value chain of large-scale photovoltaic power plants. The service ranges from the technical design (EPCm) to the turn-key delivery (EPC) and finally to the operation (O&M) of power plants. In the last years the Enerparc Group has seen an exponential growth.

Rebecca McManus is the Renewables Lead at Aurora Energy Research.

Neil Copeman, Global Head of Commercial, boasts 15 years of operational asset management and renewable energy expertise, coupled with a background in strategy and management consultancy. Since joining WiseEnergy in 2017, he has been instrumental in establishing the company’s Commercial function. Under his leadership, Neil has assembled a robust team of over 30 Commercial professionals and oversees teams located in London, Milan, Hyderabad, and Madrid. Over a span of approximately six years, he has expanded WiseEnergy's commercial asset management operations to encompass eight global locations, including the UK, Italy, India, US, Portugal, Chile, Spain, and Poland. Neil's responsibilities in commercial asset management span a broad spectrum, encompassing PPA revenue management, incentives and subsidy management, regulatory compliance, contract management, tendering and initial legal management, insurance renewals and claims, as well as general asset issue resolution and optimization. In addition to his core responsibilities, Neil has spearheaded the development of commercial asset management software and facilitated the establishment of WiseEnergy’s in-house Legal team. He has also been instrumental in building the company’s ESG practice, which he actively manages and develops. Furthermore, Neil holds a position on WiseEnergy's Senior Leadership Team and serves as an advocate for NextEnergy Group's LGBTQ diversity initiative. Neil brings a wealth of experience from previous roles, including expertise in acquisitions and divestments, onshore wind, DCF valuations, capital and fund raising, strategy execution and implementation, as well as managing shareholder and stakeholder relationships.

Energized by constant change, curious and always learning

Jan Willem has over 20 years of experience in the energy market and worked for some of the larger utilities. Early 2020, Jan Willem sold his previous companies Greenspread and Greencrowd to private equity concern NPM Capital. Since his departure in October 2020, Jan Willem works as an independent consultant at Stratergy. Stratergy advises funds, banks, utilities, and large consumers and producers of energy and specializes in maximizing asset value and minimizing financial risk.

Pietro Radoia is a senior solar analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. He joined BNEF's solar team in early 2011, and covers European PV markets, secondary PV market activity, and PV Levelized Cost of Electricity analysis. Before joining Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Pietro completed an MSc in Environmental Technology at Imperial College, where he specialised in Environmental Economics & Policy. Prior to his postgraduate studies he worked for the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) in Brussels for two years.

Cormac Gilligan is a director with the Clean Energy Technology team at S&P Global focused on the solar and energy storage markets. He is currently responsible for managing the research of the global photovoltaic (PV) inverter and PV balance of system markets along with producing S&P Global’s global solar demand forecasts. Mr. Gilligan has accumulated more than 10 years in the cleantech industry, with his analysis and commentary regularly published by leading PV and energy storage industry media and the global press. He has also presented at many leading industry events and conferences. Prior to joining S&P Global, Mr. Gilligan worked as a civil engineer, developing rail and metro projects across capital cities throughout Europe. He holds a degree in engineering from University College Dublin, Ireland.

Karsten has over 17 years experience in the solar business, joining former world market leader Q.Cells in 2007 and working in different positions from HR to business development to leading the Q.Cells O&M department with more than 330 MWp of solar assets in 2009. Since joining saferay group in 2012 Karsten is responsible for the Operations & Maintenance business for saferay groups own asset base in Germany, Japan and Chile, totalling approx. 350 MWp installed capacity and a team of more than 30 engineers, technicians and facility managers. Karsten is also Managing Director at blueray services GmbH, a joint venture by saferay and bluesun energy services GmbH, founded in 2019, offering custom tailored service for central inverters and BESS and saferay services KK, O&M service provider for utility scale solar power plants in Japan.

Meet Nicole, a dedicated Product Manager at 3E with a passion for creating sustainable solutions. Her role involves crafting and refining product roadmaps to provide valuable data insights to customers, including Asset Owners, IPP, EPC, and O&Ms, aiming to maximize the performance of solar plants. Nicole, who specializes in Environmental Engineering, brings her expertise and a background in digitalization from industries like water and wastewater utilities. She firmly believes in the transformative impact of AI on making energy generation more sustainable.

The civil engineer has many years of experience in the construction, purchasing and planning of photovoltaic plants in Europe, with a focus on quality assurance and environmental compliance. At ABO Wind, he has been responsible for the Solar Technology & Implementation Division since 2022.

Jan-Phillip is part of Encavis AG’s investment team and based in Hamburg, Germany. Since joining the German IPP in 2020 he has lead PV transactions in Germany, The Netherlands and Spain where he was responsible for contract negotiations (SPA, EPC, Project Financing, etc.), due diligence process and financial valuation. Jan-Phillip is particularly interested in creating client-driven, subsidy-free business cases for renewables.

Jakub is an experienced Originator and Investment expert, with 5 + years of hands-on experience in the energy sector, specializing in renewable energy markets. At Claritas, Jakub spearheads the PPA origination and leads negotiations for route to market strategies in the CEE/SEE region. He is also responsible for energy storage business development in Poland. Prior to joining CLARITAS, he worked for Axpo Group, one of the leading Swiss utilities, building his experience in power & gas sectors as well as environmental certificates trading.

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Jeff Ressler is the Chief Executive Officer of Clean Power Research. In his more than ten years at the company, he has overseen the inception of the SolarAnywhere® and WattPlan®® software families, and grown PowerClerk® from a nascent, online incentive processing tool into a powerful, general-purpose energy program automation solution. A software industry veteran, he has a track record of delivering highly available cloud-based solutions to customers as well as deep experience building effective functional teams across engineering, product management, sales, marketing, business development, support and operations. Jeff’s career includes stints at both Oracle and Disney in addition to more than 10 years at Microsoft. During his tenure at Microsoft, Jeff served as Director of Product Management for Exchange Server and Lead Product Manager for SQL Server, among other roles. For more than two years, he was the speech manager for Bill Gates, who was Microsoft’s Chairman and Chief Software Architect at the time. Jeff holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University.

For 15 years, Andrea has been committed to the purpose of the transition towards sustainable energy generation. He has gained professional experience in the photovoltaic business, working internationally for different tier-one manufacturers and consultancy firms in the PV industry. He holds a master’s degree in Materials Engineering from the University of Padova and has thorough know-how about the PV market, technology, and quality aspects. Pursuing his way in the solar industry, he participates regularly in roundtable discussions and various public events, sharing his knowledge with the objective of supporting the safe development of the solar PV industry.

Researcher specializing in the behavior of national and European energy markets, with a particular focus on the financial possibilities within these sectors. She actively collaborates with national sector stakeholders, contributing to informed decision making.

Driven by the desire to turn the solar industry into a circular economy, Fridolin Franke founded SOLAR MATERIALS together with Jan Bargel and Jan-Philipp Mai. The three met at TU Braunschweig in 2020, where Franke studied industrial engineering and combined their knowledge on business operations, engineering skills and over a decade of market knowhow. SOLAR MATERIALS has specialized in the recycling of solar panels by developing its own patented recycling process in which 98% of the raw materials, including silicon and silver, are recovered.

David Moser (PhD in physics). He is responsible for the research group “Photovoltaic Energy Systems” at the Institute for Renewable Energy, EURAC, Bolzano, Italy. Coordinator of various EU funded projects (TRUST-PV, SYMBIOSYST, SOLARBANKABILITY). Coordinator for EURAC of the activities within the IEA PVPS Task 13 “Performance and Reliability of PV modules and systems”. He has experience in performance and reliability of PV modules and installations with a special focus on integrated solutions and storage. His expertise varies from modeling and simulations to indoor/outdoor PV systems characterization. He is vice-chair of the European PV Technology and Innovation Platform Steering Committee.

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Janine Mehner has been a professional host for more than a decade. Her main topics are digitalization and sustainability, because she thinks, that can only work together and should be built up right from the beginning. She works for a lot of ministries, institutions, and enterprises all over the world.

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Since 2005, Inés has developed her career in the PV sector, in different companies of the value chain operating in the manufacturing, development, EPC, and O&M of grid-tied, distributed generation, and off-grid projects. She has held positions in business development, project development, and project management in various markets in Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. Currently, she is a Partner at Mediación Verde together with other experts in different fields (conflict resolution, environment, and renewable energy), aiming to support energy transition through the engagement of local communities. The team counts with a long professional experience in the private, public, and third sectors and uses innovative tools to increase the level of Social License, measure the risks coming from the lack of consensus, and also prevent and resolve conflicts when they arise.

Christian Pho Duc is the CTO of Smartenergy Group AG and Director of the Board of SolarPower Europe. He holds master's degrees in physics and engineering from Munich and Cambridge University. Christian has accumulated 30 years of working experience in Semiconductors (Siemens, Giesecke&Devrient, Infineon), Electric Mobility (Torqeedo) and Renewable Energies & Hydrogen (Nanosolar, Smartenergy) in various management positions.

With over sixteen years of experience in the PV sector, Carolina Nester's career began in 2007 as a solar module manufacturing Process Engineer spanning into the field of solar installation permitting, design, construction management, commissioning and subsequent supervision and control of solar assets. In 2012 she diversified her experience in the area of PV consulting supporting the development and management of net metering solar installations. The experience gained through 2014 allowed her to make the transition to the discipline of Asset Management covering the Technical and Commercial Asset Management scope of the discipline managing assets for a total of 200 MWp. Since joining Sonnedix in 2017, Carolina has evolved into the role of Head of Asset Management for Iberia being responsible for the overall performance and optimization of a 300 M€ revenue solar asset portfolio. Carolina holds an Industrial Mechanical Engineer degree by Universidad Politécnica de Valencia.

Bio Coming soon...

Valentina works into the renewable energy business for more than 10 years. Valentina has international experience in the construction, operation and maintenance and asset management of PV plants, ground mounted and rooftop projects. In SAG Solar Italia as EPC she supervised the construction of more than 50 MW, managing directly the administrative process related to the connection, tariff and permitting. She was in charge of leading the O&M department having direct contact with international investors. In 2015 she joined Vectorcuatro Italia as Asset Manager, where she was responsible for a portfolio of over 120 MW, managing direct contact with Investors, banks, technical advisors and all the public entities involved into the process. In Vectorcuatro Valentina had the opportunity to partecipate in various due diligence and selling processes. Valentina holds a Master degree in Environmental Engineering at Politecnico di Milano.

Dee Yon Chng (pronounced Dion) is a project manager for Solarplaza spearheading the following events in chronological order: Agri-PV 2023, Floating-PV 2023, Energy Storage Spain 2023, Romania 2024, France 2024. Prior to Solarplaza she helped co-found a "floating" coaching company, and worked as sustainability consultant. She is a strong believer in knowledge sharing around sustainability topics, with 10 years of chairman experience in facilitating a collaborative and fruitful discussion.

Engineer with a Master's degree in Renewable Energies and an Executive MBA, bringing over 15 years of extensive experience in the renewable energy sector in several European countries. Throughout my career, I have held pivotal roles such as Project Finance Lead, Investment Manager and Country Manager. Currently, I serve as responsible of the Asset Management at Aukera, overseeing the performance and optimization of renewable energy assets across 4 different European markets. Relevant and comprehensive experience in project finance and investment management, combined with strategic leadership in country-specific operations.

A winner of numerous international awards and one of the awardees of Forbes 30 Under 30, Govinda is a serial clean-tech entrepreneur. A climate & energy researcher by qualification, he studied in multiple top European & Indian universities. He was primarily working on weather, climate, micro-climate dynamics, and their modelling during his Ph.D. from EPFL, Switzerland. In his second startup SmartHelio, backed by Y Combinator, they have developed a predictive software solution that can prevent downtime in solar plants. By using AI and physics principles, they can predict faults in real time and ensure that maintenance staff are taking proactive measures before any damage occurs

Esther Fombellida Ruiz is a Senior Portfolio Manager with 16 years of experience in the solar industry, currently dedicated to the commercial and technical management of portfolios in the EMEA and APAC regions. Recently, she has also been supporting the definition of the Asset Management business strategy, including market risks, team structure, contracts, and more, in new markets for these same regions. She holds a Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering with a specialty in Electricity. After completing her studies with an Erasmus exchange program in Rome, she began her professional career working for an engineering firm specializing in broader mechanical engineering consulting. However, from early on, Esther had an interest in the energy market and renewables, and as soon as an opportunity arose, she focused her career in this direction. Esther's journey in the solar industry began with extensive travel for on-site visits, covering over 1,000 km each week. These trips and experiences laid the foundations for her in-depth understanding of the technicalities and challenges affecting site operations. Following this, she took on various roles with increasing responsibilities within the Asset Management ambit, which allowed her to further enhance her commercial and leadership skills. Since 2022, Esther has been in her current role as Senior Portfolio Manager, managing 600 MWp for the EMEA and APAC regions. She has always felt proud of working in the solar sector due to its role in the broader energy transition. Supporting the business and being able to make her contribution is her key work purpose. A key achievement of hers has been leading the challenging changes required to transform the technical performance of a significantly distressed portfolio into positive results over a period of just three years. Being referred to by the client as the MVP for such an achievement was the cherry on top. More recently, Esther has been focusing on enhancing her leadership skills. She is excited to embark on this training and to see the positive outcomes it will bring and how it will further support her key work purpose. Her large family, friends, partner, and three-year-old son are the pillars of her life, and she would not be anywhere near where she is today, both personally and professionally, without their continued love and support.

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