In the first of three careers, while on the faculty at Imperial College (1978-89), Jeremy worked as a geologist with the oil industry, among other things researching oil source rocks funded by BP and Shell. Increasingly worried by global warming, he left to become an environmental campaigner with Greenpeace International (1989-1996), during which time he won the US Climate Institute's Award for Advancing Understanding. Coming to the view that successful green businesses were badly needed in the global fight to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, he set up Solarcentury, currently the UK's largest solar solutions company (1997-present). Solarcentury has won multiple awards for innovation and sustainability, including the 2006 Sunday Times / Microsoft TechTrack 100 R&D Award and the FT / Treasury Inner City 100 Greenest Company Award. It is the only renewable energy company in the Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work For list (2007).

 

Anton Milner is a native Englishman, nowadays better characterised as cosmopolitan. He is especially known for his career as co-founder and long-time CEO at the biggest European solar cell manufacturer Q-Cells. In the PV world he is highly acknowledged as a strong strategist and cool calculator. Now he is enthusiastic to be a first mover in the solar market of his home country. Vogt solar specialises in the development and realisation of photovoltaic (PV) power plants of every size: from site selection, to plant construction, and ongoing operational and maintenance support. The holding company vogt group is a pioneer of the established German photovoltaic (PV) industry with over 13 years experience in solar business.

 

Reza Shaybani is a Serial entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in managing technology-focused companies in the optical disc manufacturing equipment and semiconductor industries. For the past 5 years Reza has been involved in the solar PV industry as the Managing Director of Scheuten Solar Middle East and Solar Technology Centre, founder of Solarjobs.com a global online job board for the solar industry, Managing Director of System Photonics, Director of The Electric Roof Company and most recently CEO of OTB Energy. In 2010, Reza and a group of companies with interest in the UK solar PV market (the founding members) formed the British Photovoltaic Association, the national trade association of the UK solar PV industry. As the voice of the industry, the BPVA is working to make solar PV a mainstream and significant energy source by expanding markets, removing market barriers, strengthening the industry and educating the public on the benefits of solar energy. Reza is currently the Chairman of the British Photovoltaic Association.

 

Edwin Koot has been active in the Solar Energy business since 1994. Through his own companies Ekomation and Easysolar Edwin built up a lot of practical knowledge about the Dutch national situation and the international solar energy market.
With the foundation of his company Solarplaza in 2004, Edwin started building a broad information platform focused on the international solar energy market and the expansion of his large network of contacts and relations. By organizing international conferences and trade missions to production facilities; publishing in-depth market reports and supporting businesses in finding valuable contacts, Solarplaza has positioned itself as an important player in the PV industry.

 

Before joining the REA Ray Noble was the Associate Director of Building Engineering at Arup, developing Arup’s skills in BIPV until 1999. He then spent 7 years as the UK Manager of BP Solar developing and demonstrating BP Solar products on Buildings. During this time Ray formed a BP Solar / Romag Partnership to develop and manufacture BIPV products. He assisted in the creation of the NaREC PV Technology Laboratories in Northumberland and designed many of the large BIPV demonstration projects in both the UK and EuropeFrom 2006 onwards Ray set up Solar BIPV Ltd PV Consultancy providing technical support to customers in the use of BIPV.

 

Rachel leads work on Feed-in Tariffs within the Office for Renewable Deployment in DECC. The Office for Renewable Energy Deployment (ORED) has the job within Government of ensuring that it meets the targets for renewable energy. ORED works closely with delivery partners and stakeholders to help accelerate deployment. Prior to this she has worked in a variety of energy and environment roles within DECC and Defra, including taking the Climate Change Bill through Parliament, and has also spent a year on secondment to Tesco.

 

Thomas Chrometzka started his carreer as Programme Manager of the „European Master in Renewable Energy“, a study programme administered by the “European Renewable Energy Research Centres Agency” (EUREC) in Brussels in 2007. Later that year he changed to the German Solar Industry Association in Berlin where he took up this job as International Affairs Officer. At BSW-Solar, Thomas worked on European projects, solar policy analysis and global PV market development. In 2009, Thomas became Head of International Affairs at BSW-Solar, responsible for promoting the German Solar Industry abroad and contributing to creating favorable framework conditions for solar globally. Thomas is the coordinator of a European project “PV LEGAL” aiming at removing bureaucratic barriers for PV system installations in Europe.