Aurora Solar

Shaping the future of solar together

Connect with solar industry leaders. Learn the latest in sales, tech, policy, and more. Network with the solar community, and gain the tools and insights to move your solar career forward. Now available in replay!

What to expect

Connect. Learn. Grow.

Empower is the industry event for solar professionals who want to move their careers forward and connect with a like-minded community of solar leaders. Now in its fourth year, this virtual summit will explore how digital innovation is helping organizations grow and transforming the industry.

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Suburban tranquility: a serene evening sky with a single contrail above peaceful, modern homes.
Suburban tranquility: a serene evening sky with a single contrail above peaceful, modern homes.

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Why watch

See the next phase of solar growth and how you can seize opportunities to grow your solar career, business, or both. We’ll cover topics for:

  • Design, operations, and engineering
  • Sales and marketing
  • Senior management and business owners

Come connect with peers & explore new opportunities!

Something for everyone

Design, Operations, and Engineering

  • Get your hands dirty with Aurora and HelioScope workshops
  • Learn actionable strategies for using tech to improve your workflows and operations
  • See how automation can make your large scale projects more efficient

Sales and Marketing

  • Boost your sales and marketing with techniques from experienced solar marketers
  • Discover how to attach storage to every sale
  • Explore the latest in solar sales tech, from lead gen to closing

Leadership and Management

  • Find out how solar leaders are navigating the latest bumps in the “solar coaster”
  • Learn the ins and outs of the IRA, NEM 3.0, and other policy changes — and how they affect your business
  • Discover how digital transformation is driving the future of the solar industry

One inspiring day

Free virtual summit for aspiring solar professionals. Available in replay.

Opening Remarks

2023-08-16 12:00 pm 2023-08-16 12:00 pm 2023-08-16 11:00 am 2023-08-16 10:00 am 2023-08-16 09:00 am 2023-08-16 08:00 am

Introduction

Christopher Hopper
Christopher Hopper Co-founder & CEO, Aurora Solar
2023-08-16 12:10 pm 2023-08-16 12:10 pm 2023-08-16 11:10 am 2023-08-16 10:10 am 2023-08-16 09:10 am 2023-08-16 08:10 am

Managing Through Complexity and Change — Solar in 2023 and Beyond

It’s a story as old as solar panels themselves: The industry has some great tailwinds, but also faces new and continuing headwinds. There are many exciting positives like the Inflation Reduction Act and and the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office’s billions in loan authority, and also potential drags like high interest rates, an uncertain economy, and other policy issues. In this keynote, Jigar Shah, the Director leading the Loan Programs Office, will investigate what he sees coming down the road and even look at innovative ideas like virtual power plants that promise to bring new opportunities to solar installers across the country.

Jigar Shah
Jigar Shah Director, Loan Programs Office, U.S. Department of Energy
2023-08-16 12:40 pm 2023-08-16 12:40 pm 2023-08-16 11:40 am 2023-08-16 10:40 am 2023-08-16 09:40 am 2023-08-16 08:40 am

California’s Solar & Storage Market: Where we’ve been, Where we are headed

This keynote will take a fresh look at California’s distributed solar and storage market as it stands in the summer of 2023. It will provide a retrospective on what the industry has just been through with regards to various policy challenges, and it will lay out the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for one of the world’s largest clean energy markets.

Bernadette Del Chiaro
Bernadette Del Chiaro Executive Director, California Solar and Storage Association
2023-08-16 01:10 pm 2023-08-16 01:10 pm 2023-08-16 12:10 pm 2023-08-16 11:10 am 2023-08-16 10:10 am 2023-08-16 09:10 am

CEOs Speak: The Challenges and Opportunities Solar Leaders Are Talking About

What’s happening in solar for the rest of 2023 and beyond? More importantly, how are the most innovative solar leaders preparing for what’s to come — and dealing with the current market conditions? This panel of solar founders and leaders, from companies of all shapes and sizes, will address these very questions, and more, with real-world experiences and actionable insights.

Abby Buchmiller
Abby Buchmiller Co-Founder , RDCL Services
Carina Brockl
Carina Brockl CRO, Aurora Solar
Rebekah Carpenter
Rebekah Carpenter Founder, Fingerlakes Renewable Energy
Steph Speirs
Steph Speirs Co-Founder & CEO, Solstice Power Technologies
2023-08-16 02:00 pm 2023-08-16 02:00 pm 2023-08-16 01:00 pm 2023-08-16 12:00 pm 2023-08-16 11:00 am 2023-08-16 10:00 am

Shedding Light on AI: Demystifying Artificial Intelligence in the Solar Industry

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken the spotlight across all industries and sectors. Bill Gates recently remarked, “The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone,” and many businesses are investing big to try to harness its power and get ahead. So, what does this mean for the solar industry? AI’s popularity grew quickly, while at the same time the application of the technology won’t just happen all at once. This session brings together experts and thought leaders to facilitate a dynamic exchange of ideas and insights on AI, as well as the impact AI will have on the solar industry.

Chris Thompson
Chris Thompson Vice President Product & Technical Marketing, Solaredge
Dan Javan
Dan Javan President & CEO, Suntiuity Renewables
Rachel Liddell
Rachel Liddell Sr. Product Manager, Aurora Solar
Tyler Lancaster
Tyler Lancaster Partner, Energize Capital

Sales

2023-08-16 03:00 pm 2023-08-16 03:00 pm 2023-08-16 02:00 pm 2023-08-16 01:00 pm 2023-08-16 12:00 pm 2023-08-16 11:00 am

Powering the Future: Unlocking Business Growth through Solar Storage

As demand continues to grow for solar storage, installers are in a great position to benefit by expanding their product offerings. Join industry experts to learn the nuances of selling storage to homeowners, the market outlook, trends, and more. *SEIA predicts that by 2025 one in every three residential solar systems will be paired with storage.

Barry Cinnamon
Barry Cinnamon CEO, Cinnamon Energy Systems
John Sheldon
John Sheldon Director of New Business Capabilities, Renu Energy Solutions
Max Issokson
Max Issokson Analyst, Wood Makenzie
Tracy Hawker
Tracy Hawker Senior Product Manager, Aurora Solar
2023-08-16 04:00 pm 2023-08-16 04:00 pm 2023-08-16 03:00 pm 2023-08-16 02:00 pm 2023-08-16 01:00 pm 2023-08-16 12:00 pm

The Sales Objection Throwdown

In this fun (and informative) session, we’ll hear from sales experts across the industry on how to handle tough homeowner objections, and get tips for refining your sales pitch so that you can crush your solar sales this year. We’ll also have live voting so you can choose who answered each objection best (with prizes awarded to the winner!).

Ashleigh Tatarcyk
Ashleigh Tatarcyk Owner, Urban Sol Energy
Joe Mousakheel
Joe Mousakheel Owner, The Solar Academy
Rich McCoy
Rich McCoy Founder & CEO, Rivus Energy
Stephen Gerken
Stephen Gerken Product Marketing Manager, Aurora Solar

Operations & Engineering

2023-08-16 03:00 pm 2023-08-16 03:00 pm 2023-08-16 02:00 pm 2023-08-16 01:00 pm 2023-08-16 12:00 pm 2023-08-16 11:00 am

Operations unlocked: Using tech to streamline your solar processes

Uncover the strategies and technologies that can revolutionize your approach to solar. In this panel discussion, we’ll dive deep into how technology can unlock your operations bottlenecks. We’ll investigate how cutting-edge tools can streamline processes, best practices that save you time and elevate your team’s capabilities, and tackle real-world scenarios with inventive solutions.

Andrew Santiago
Andrew Santiago President, Andrew Consulting Group, LLC
Conner Allen
Conner Allen Residential Sales Manager, GRNE Solar
Davis Nunez
Davis Nunez General Manager - Proposals, SalesRabbit
2023-08-16 04:00 pm 2023-08-16 04:00 pm 2023-08-16 03:00 pm 2023-08-16 02:00 pm 2023-08-16 01:00 pm 2023-08-16 12:00 pm

Design Mode 101

In this session you will learn some of the best practices when using Aurora's Design Mode to create accurate designs. We will cover the basics on navigating through the Design Mode interface, pre-design, site and system modeling, post-design, and will share some additional resources to get you designing like a pro in no time! This session is a sample offering of our Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT) content that will be offered later this year through the NEW Aurora Academy!

Matt Wrightsman
Matt Wrightsman Customer Training Manager, Aurora Solar

Commercial & Industrial

2023-08-16 03:00 pm 2023-08-16 03:00 pm 2023-08-16 02:00 pm 2023-08-16 01:00 pm 2023-08-16 12:00 pm 2023-08-16 11:00 am

Decoding the IRA for C&I: Insights and Opportunities

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is the most transformational clean energy policy in history. Over the next decade, the IRA will more than double industry employment and 5x the amount of solar capacity installed today. But how will supply chain issues in the short term meet rising demand? Join policy experts to understand the implications of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for commercial solar projects and discover where potential opportunities exist to grow your business.

Benoy Thanjan
Benoy Thanjan CEO & Founder / Host of the Solar Maverick podcast, Reneu Energy
Paul Grana
Paul Grana General Manager, HelioScope by Aurora, Aurora Solar
Tim Montague
Tim Montague President, Clean Power Consulting Group
2023-08-16 04:00 pm 2023-08-16 04:00 pm 2023-08-16 03:00 pm 2023-08-16 02:00 pm 2023-08-16 01:00 pm 2023-08-16 12:00 pm

Solar’s Digital Frontier: Automation and Digitalization in Large-Scale Solar

Automated workflows and streamlined processes are the driving forces behind high-growth companies. In this panel discussion, we’ll explore how automations can revolutionize large-scale Commercial and Industrial (C&I) businesses. We’ll be joined by industry pioneers who will share their real-world experiences, success stories, and lessons learned from implementing solar technology to streamline processes and optimize project efficiency.

John Powers
John Powers Co-founder & CSO, Elexity
Kyle Callert
Kyle Callert Customer Success Manager, HelioScope, Aurora Solar
Mark Culpepper
Mark Culpepper General Manager, Solar of Zeitview
Sharat Singh
Sharat Singh Founding CEO & Chief Architect , Quandrical AI

Featured Speakers

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Conner Allen

Residential Sales Manager, GRNE Solar

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Carina Brockl

Acting CRO, Aurora Solar

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Abby Buchmiller

Co-Founder, RDCL Services

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Kyle Callert

Customer Success Manager, HelioScope at Aurora Solar

A woman with a content smile standing in front of solar panels with a tropical backdrop basking in the golden hour sunlight.

Rebekah Carpenter

Founder, Fingerlakes Renewable Energy

Bernadette Del Chiaro

Executive Director, California Solar and Storage Association

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Barry Cinnamon

CEO, Cinnamon Energy Systems

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Mark Culpepper

General Manager, Solar of Zeitview

Stephen Gerken

Product Marketing Manager, Aurora Solar

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Paul Grana

General Manager of HelioScope, Aurora Solar

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Tracy Hawker

Senior Product Manager, Aurora Solar

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Chris Hopper

Co-Founder & CEO, Aurora Solar

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Max Issokson

Analyst, Wood Makenzie

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Dan Javan

President & CEO, Suntiuity Renewables

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Tyler Lancaster

Partner, Energize Capital

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Rachel Liddell

Sr. Product Manager, Aurora Solar

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Rich McCoy

Founder & CEO, Rivus Energy

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Joe Mousakheel

Owner, The Solar Academy

Tim Montague

President, Clean Power Consulting Group & Host of the Clean Power Hour podcast

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Davis Nunez

General Manager - Proposals, SalesRabbit

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John Powers

Co-founder & CSO, Elexity

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Jigar Shah

Loans Loan Programs Office Director, U.S. Department of Energy

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Andrew Santiago

President, Andrew Consulting Group, LLC

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John Sheldon

Director of New Business Capabilities, Renu Energy Solutions

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Steph Speirs

Co-Founder & CEO, Solstace Power Technologies

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Ashleigh Tatarcyk

Owner, Urban Sol Energy

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Benoy Thanjan

CEO & Founder of Reneu Energy / Host of the Solar Maverick podcast

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Chris Thompson

Vice President Product & Technical Marketing, Solaredge

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Sharat Singh

Founding CEO & Chief Architect, Quandrical AI

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Matt Wrightsman

Customer Training Manager, Aurora Solar