RENEWABLES USA 1st Q. 08

Welcome to the Renewables Newsletter from the German American Chambers of Commerce (GACC). The German American Chamber network promotes bilateral trade relations between the United States and Germany. With offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco all running programs to increase dialog and trade in the renewable energy industry, we are pleased to present our newsletter to provide updates on those programs and opportunities for U.S. and German companies. Below you find details on upcoming Chamber programs and past initiatives for solar energy, wind power, bioenergy, and energy efficient building technologies.

San Francisco, CA -- The German American Chamber of Commerce, California Branch, will organize its first Energy Efficiency Symposium in San Francisco on March 4, 2008. The event will focus on energy efficiency in construction and provide a platform for U.S. and German experts to present and discuss current trends in the green building and energy efficiency industries.

San Francisco is an ideal location as the city is striving to be one of the “greenest” in the United States. The symposium will take place at the brand new San Francisco Federal Building, one of the “most energy efficient buildings” in San Francisco and awaiting its LEED certification. Amongst the speakers will be Prof. Manfred Hegger, Head of the Energy Efficient Building Unit at Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, who led the team that won the Solar Decathlon 2007, as well as members of the Board of the US Green Building Council, Northern California Chapter.

For further information and contact details read the full article.

Atlanta, GA / Houston, TX -- To establish contact with like-minded individuals and organizations, the GACC South organizes Green Initiative Networking Events quarterly. The next events will take place on March 6, 2008, in Atlanta and on March 11, 2008, in Houston. Our Green Networking Events are loosely structured, but some of our attendees have the opportunity to present their “green” products and services or leave some literature about their organization. With 80 local and international attendees our event was a great success. We are especially interested in how our members are involved in the Green Industry and welcome them to display their green products at our networking events.

For further information and contact details read the full article.

Houston, TX -- The first German American Energy Efficiency Conference in Houston/Texas will be held at the Hilton Houston Post Oak Hotel on April 1, 2008. Leading German and US experts will inform attendees about current trends in energy efficiency in buildings. Dr. Andreas Holm, Director of the Department for room climate of the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP) as well as Dipl.-Ing. Arch. Barbara Gehrung from the Technical University of Darmstadt, Faculty for Architecture and winner of the Solar Decathlon 2007 will present current topics.

For further information and contact details read the full article.

San Francisco, CA -- The German American Chamber of Commerce, California Branch, looks forward to organizing and hosting its 4th Germany California Solar Day in San Francisco on May 27, 2008. The event, which will cover photovoltaics with focus on concentrating PV and thin-film technology, will be held at the headquarters of the regional utility company PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric). The conference will once again be supported by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

The GACC California Branch has organized three successful solar conferences in the last three years. Last year’s event was attended by about 200 guests. More than 100 meetings took place between the German delegates and Californian solar companies that created opportunities to discuss mutual business opportunities.

For further information and contact details read the full article.

Midwest -- GACCoM is organizing a Midwest Renewables/Energy Efficiency Roadshow from June 23-26, 2008 – a weeklong event at four different locations on several different topics from the Renewable Energy field, pertinent to the local industries.  Each stop along the roadshow will feature an afternoon conference targeted to specific topics of relevance to that location followed by a networking reception. The roadshow will include the following stops and topics:

• Cincinnati, OH: Bionenergy and Energy Efficiency in the industry
• Detroit, MI: Supply Chain issues within the Renewable Energy Industry
• Chicago, IL: Energy Efficiency in Architecture / Sustainable Development
• Minneapolis, MN: Wind- and Bioenergy

For further information and contact details read the full article.

Syracuse, NY -- The bioenergy sector in the United States is growing at a phenomenal rate. Business opportunities in production and sales are plentiful and continue to develop. At the same time, many highly innovative German bioenergy companies are seeking transatlantic business alliances. In order to meet this demand, the German American Chamber of Commerce New York (GACCNY) is organizing the “4th German American Renewable Energy Conference - Biomass: Power, Heat, and Fuels”. The event will be held on June 24, 2008, in Syracuse, NY.

This city has established itself as the bioenergy industry center in the Northeastern part of the country. The speakers for this year’s conference are professionals, technicians, scientists, and government representatives from both the U.S. and Germany. They will discuss current technical and policy issues, always with a focus on recent and future developments in the renewable energy market.

For further information and contact details read the full article.

Berlin, Germany -- The German American Chamber of Commerce Houston, TX, The Federal Association Wind Energy, The American Wind Energy Association and the State of Texas organized a one-day Market Entry Presentation with the topic “Wind energy in the US” on February 14, 2008. In front of more than 70 participants, the American and German specialists presented the current boom of wind energy in the US and showed the prospects for the German wind energy industry connected to that boom.

The US has a huge backlog in the use of renewable energies. This opens an exciting market of growth for international companies. According to information from the American Wind Energy Association, the installations in the Wind energy area alone increased 45% over the last year. The State of Texas leads the way in this process. At this time there are already more than 5,200MW of wind energy installed in Texas. Another 5,000MW will be added in 2008.

For further information and contact details read the full article.

Chicago, IL -- The German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest (GACCoM) and Baden-Wuerttemberg International (BW-I) hosted a seminar Transatlantic Perspectives on Energy Efficient Architecture in Germany and the US on November 27th at IIDA’s new conference in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. The event was organized in cooperation with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) – Chicago Chapter, the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and the US Green Building Council (USGBC) – Chicago Chapter. Within the span of three hours, about 70 architects, developers, builders, and representatives from other related fields received an extensive overview of sustainable architecture approaches in Germany and North America.

For further information and contact details read the full article.

Atlanta, GA -- After attending the 2007 Solar-Wind energy conference in Houston, TX, Gerhard Stryi-Hipp, the Managing Director of the German Solar Energy Association stopped in Atlanta on November 27, 2007, to share the news. To tune in on his report, a business luncheon was organized by the German American Chamber of Commerce and the German Consulate General of Atlanta. Among the attendees was the German Consul General Dr. Lutz Görgens, officials from the GACC South and business people from various solar-related companies and organizations.

For further information and contact details read the full article.

Abilene, TX -- The German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern United States, in conjunction with the German Energy Agency (DENA) and the Texas Renewable Energies Industry Association (TREIA) held a one-day conference and workshop with a concentration on solar, solar-thermal, and wind energy in Abilene, TX, on November 12, 2007. 

The conference was followed by break-out sessions held in the Abilene Civic Center during the Texas Renewables '07 conference, organized by TREIA, as well as field visits to companies and sites of renewable energy projects in greater Texas. Eight companies representing the German wind and solar energy industry attended the conferences with the intention of stimulating interest and establishing business relationships with Texas renewable energy companies. 

For further information and contact details read the full article.

Des Moines, IA -- The German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest (GACCoM) brought together over 160 companies and leaders in WindEnergy from both sides of the Atlantic on Tuesday, on November 6th, 2007, in Des Moines, Iowa.  Eight innovative German companies presented their technologies at the conference, demonstrating Germany’s leadership position in developing major commercial wind energy systems, which are well-positioned to take advantage of the enormous market potential in the next ten years in the Upper Midwest and Great Plains of the United States.  Iowa is the third largest producer of wind energy in the USA, followed closely by its neighbor to the north, Minnesota.  Six of Top 10 states ranked by wind potential are also located in the region. Therefore, Iowa is the ideal location to bring the regional wind industry together with a delegation of leading German companies and industry experts.

For further information and contact details read the full article.