Official Opening Intersolar South America Conference

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Time
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Hall
Expo Center Norte, 2nd floor
Room
Cantareira 3-5

Official conference opening, featuring distinguished authorities and professionals from the electric and solar photovoltaic sectors.

10:00 am - 10:20 amWelcome and Introduction

Dr. Florian Wessendorf

Managing Director

Solar Promotion International GmbH

Camila Ramos

CEO

CELA - Clean Energy Latin America

Celso L. P. Mendes

Consultant

Aranda Editora

Ronaldo Koloszuk

President of the Board

ABSOLAR - Associação Brasileira de Energia Solar Fotovoltaica

10:20 am - 10:35 amWelcome Speeches

Javier Viveros

Institutional Development Advisor

REDIEX

10:35 am - 10:50 amOpportunities and Challenges for Solar PV in Brazil

Dr. Rodrigo Sauaia

CEO

ABSOLAR

10:50 am - 11:05 amWhat to Make of Falling Prices, New Business Models & the German Experience with the 'Solar Coaster' - Please Come Along for the Ride

David Wedepohl

Managing Director International Affairs

German Solar Association, BSW Solar e.V.

11:05 am - 11:20 amHighlights of the Solar PV and Energy Storage Markets in the USA

Abigail Ross Hopper

President & CEO

Solar Energy Industries Association

11:20 am - 12:00 pmfurther speakers to be announced

LATAM's Largest Exhibition and Conference for the Solar Industry
Learn more
Speakers
Speaker
Dr. Florian Wessendorf, Solar Promotion International GmbH

Managing Director

Germany

Dr. Florian Wessendorf is Managing Director of Solar Promotion GmbH and Solar Promotion International GmbH. He is responsible for the global conference program and exhibitions in North America, South America and India. He has deep expertise in the solar industry, and formerly served as Managing Director of Photovoltaic Equipment at VDMA, where he was responsible for strategic development, market research and technology scouting, advocacy and policy advice, events, PR and marketing.

Speaker
Abigail Ross Hopper, Solar Energy Industries Association

President & CEO

United States of America

Abigail Ross Hopper is the President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, the national trade organization for America's solar energy industries. She oversees all of SEIA's activities, including government affairs, research, communications, and industry leadership, and is focused on creating a marketplace where solar will constitute a significant percentage of America's energy generation. Before joining SEIA, Abby served as Director of the Department of Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Director of the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA), Energy Advisor to Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, and Deputy General Counsel with the Maryland Public Service Commission. Before embarking on a career in public service, Abby spent nine years in private practice. Abby graduated Cum Laude from the University of Maryland School of Law and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Dartmouth College. She is the very proud mom of three children and loves to read and ride on her Peloton.

Speaker
David Wedepohl, German Solar Association, BSW Solar e.V.

Managing Director International Affairs

Germany

David Wedepohl, Managing Director International Affairs David Wedepohl is a radio journalist by training who studied and worked on both sides of the Atlantic. He holds a master's degree in Journalism and Public Affairs which he achieved as a Fulbright scholar. His professional experience included working for the German embassy in Washington, DC as a senior press and public diplomacy officer. He first came in touch with the solar industry while working for an American consulting company before taking up his job as director communications and markets at the German Solar Association, also serving as the organization's spokesperson. He now holds the position of managing director international affairs and is responsible for the association's international activities.

Speaker
Camila Ramos, CELA - Clean Energy Latin America

CEO

Brazil

CEO and Founder of CELA, with 21 years of experience in the renewable energy sector, including bioenergy, wind energy, solar PV and green hydrogen. Camila currently also serves as Investment and Green Hydrogen Vice-President of the Board of Directors of ABSOLAR (the Brazilian Solar PV Association), Non-Executive Director of the Board of Administration of Brazilian Rare Earths, member of the Advisory Board of the Federation of Industry of São Paulo (COINFRA - FIESP) and is a Finance Expert at the Clean Energy Finance Solutions Center (NREL - USA). Prior to founding CELA, she was Country Manager and Head of Latin America at Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), where she advised clients with research and analysis of renewable energy sectors and markets, and trends in the region. She has also worked in the past at PricewaterhouseCoopers, ERB - Energias Renováveis do Brasil and Infinity Bio-Energy. Camila holds a Master's and Bachelor's degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Speaker
Celso L. P. Mendes, Aranda Editora

Consultant

Brasil

Celso L P Mendes - Consultant, he was general manager of Klöckner-Moeller for South America and general manager of Siemens in the area of Industrial Electrical Energy Systems. For more than 30 years, he has worked in Brazil and Germany on equipment and installations for the basic and manufacturing industries. A member of the NBR 5410 EC since 1990, he has published several works on the standard. He is a Life Senior Member of the IEEE, a senior member of the VDE, and a member of the IAFSS - International Association for Fire Safety Science, London. He is a consultant on Modern Electricity and PhotoVolt, and senior advisor to the Intersolar South America congress.

Speaker
Ronaldo Koloszuk, ABSOLAR - Associação Brasileira de Energia Solar Fotovoltaica

President of the Board

Brazil

Ronaldo Koloszuk is President of ABSOLAR (Brazilian Solar Photovoltaic Energy Association), 2nd Secretary Director of FIESP (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo) and Commercial Director of Solar Group.

Speaker
Javier Viveros, REDIEX

Institutional Development Advisor

Paraguay

-

Speaker
Dr. Rodrigo Sauaia, ABSOLAR

CEO

Brazil

Rodrigo Lopes Sauaia is co-founder and CEO of ABSOLAR (Brazilian Solar Photovoltaic Energy Association), the national association representing Brazilian solar PV companies and professionals. He is co-founder and a governing board member of the GSC (Global Solar Council), a non-profit body representing regional and national solar associations on international issues. Rodrigo holds a PhD in Materials Engineering and Technology from PUC-RS (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul), a Master's degree in Renewable Energies from Loughborough University (UK), a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from USP (São Paulo University), and has collaborated with the Fraunhofer Institut für Solare Energiesysteme (Germany) and with ETH Zürich (Switzerland).

Further Content
Webinar
Renewable Energy Jobs in Brazil - Career Opportunities and Challenges

October 24, 2024

New energy sources require not only new equipment and innovative technologies. They also require people to operate them. To properly utilize the new energy sources, the largest expected job gains are in electrical efficiency, power generation, and the automotive sector.

Speaker
Márcio Takata, Greener

CEO & Board Member / Conselheiro of ABSOLAR

Brazil

CEO of GREENER, a Research and Investment Strategies company focused on Energy Transition. Since 2007, has been involved in structuring more competitive and sustainable businesses with a focus on the Storage, Distributed and Centralized Solar Energy chain. Member of the Board of Directors of ABSOLAR, Marcio is engineer from the Polytechnic School of USP - University of São Paulo - and an MBA from INSPER and has served as a professor in different postgraduate programs in topics related to energy and sustainability.

Speaker
Emerson Viana de Oliveira, Comerc Energia

Project Manager

Brazil

Emerson Viana Oliveira has a Master's degree in Systems and Process Engineering and Management, an MBA in Competitive Management and a degree in Civil Engineering. Solar Project Manager at Comerc Energia, responsible for the construction of the UFV Hélio Valgas Solar Complex, the 5th largest photovoltaic plant in Brazil and the 3rd largest in Minas Gerais. He has 29 years' experience in managing large-scale infrastructures in Brazil, Peru, Portugal and Africa. He teaches postgraduate courses at PUC and IETEC MG, specializing in Planning, Budget and Cost Engineering.

Speaker
Marilia Braga, Fotovoltaica-UFSC

Researcher

Brazil

Marília Braga has been a researcher at the Fotovoltaica-UFSC research group for 10 years, where she works with Prof. Dr. Ricardo Rüther with data analysis and design of photovoltaic and energy storage systems for grid-connected and off-grid applications. Marília has experience in all stages of the development of photovoltaic systems, from sizing, simulation and design, to performance analysis, having participated in commissioning and fault detection activities of more than 300 MWp of utility-scale PV plants. Additionally, in the Fotovoltaica-UFSC group, Marília helps coordinate the team and participates in research projects in the areas of battery energy storage, electric vehicles, and the production of green hydrogen. Marília is also the former treasurer and current vice-president of ABENS, the Brazilian Solar Energy Society

Speaker
Markus Vlasits, Newcharge

Managing Director

Brazil

Markus Vlasits started as a consultant at McKinsey & Company in Germany and has been active in the solar PV industry for 17 years in several executive positions. In 2007-2009, he was Production Manager of crystallization and wafering at Q.Cells SE, Thalheim, Germany, where he reached a vice-presidential role in Sales Operations. Moving to Brazil in 2013, he started as CEO of Yingli Green Energy do Brasil. He teamed up with fellow executives to open Faro Energy, an investment company focusing on PV generation projects for commercial concerns, and was its Sales Director until 2018. In 2019, he was an independent consultant and helped start ABSOLAR's Energy Storage Workgroup. In 2020, founded NewCharge, an engineering company focused on energy storage projects for commercial clients in Brazil. He is also active as acts as a technical consultant and advisor for projects related to energy storage. In August 2023, he was elected president of board of directors of the Brazilian Association for Energy Storage Solutions (ABSAE). Markus also organizes energy storage events and conferences, and recently co-organized an energy storage conference panel for Intersolar South America 2021 in partnership with Solar Promotion.

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