RENEWABLES USA 4th Q. 09

Welcome to the Renewables Newsletter of the German American Chambers of Commerce (GACCs). 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 are details on upcoming Chamber programs and past initiatives for solar energy, wind power, bioenergy, and energy efficient building technologies.

New York, NY - November 2, 2009.  Transatlantic Climate Bridge - Business Opportunities for German and American Companies.  The German American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. and the Consulate General of Germany present an informative evening discussion of business in the various fields of renewable energy.  The event will include an array of speakers from government, finance, and business to clear up the most common problems in the sector as well as open discussion on questions that may not be as obvious.  Siemens AG will open with a keynote speech on their history as a green company.  Other speakers will include the Linde Group, 1st Light Energy, NYSERDA, and Germany Trade & Invest.

The event will be held as part of an initiative of the German Missions in the United States called the Transatlantic Climate Bridge.  The goal of the project is to stimulate dialogue and action between Europe and the United States to combat climate change.  Focus: Renewable Energy will not only present a conversation on clean energy and the business opportunities in the sector, but it will also introduce key players in the field from both Germany and the US.

For more information, please contact Sabine Kallup at skallup@gaccny.com or (646) 437-1012.

Germany - November 3-6, 2009. From November 3rd-6th, 2009, seven U.S. solar companies will participate in the "U.S. Solar Business Delegation" to the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Participating companies include, amongst others, Sun Force Solutions Intl. and Solar Power Partners from the state of California as well as Radiance Solar from Georgia. The delegation, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, provides a unique opportunity to learn about the German solar energy market, to engage in political and business networking, and to meet German companies active in the field of solar energy.

This year's "U.S. Solar Business Delegation to Germany" consists of a half-day conference and a B2B meeting forum promoting transatlantic business opportunities as well as one-and-a-half days of tours to destinations within the state of Baden-Württemberg. The conference, with speakers including Prof. Dr. Eicke Weber, Director, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems - ISE, and Hans-Jörg Lerchenmüller, CEO, Concentrix GmbH, covering political, R&D and business aspects of the solar market in Germany and the U.S., will take place at the Fraunhofer ISE in Freiburg. In addition to a tour of the Fraunhofer ISE, delegation participants will visit a solar residential area/Heliotrop and the Solar-Fabrik AG. On the last day of the trip, participants will travel to nearby Stuttgart to tour the facilities of the DEGERenergie GmbH as well as the ZSW, the Centre of Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research.

The delegation is organized by the German American Chamber of Commerce, Inc., California Branch, as part of the export initiative  "Renewables - Made in Germany". It is supported by the German Energy Agency (dena), Baden-Württemberg International, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems - ISE, and the City of Freiburg. For more information about the delegation and how to arrange meetings with the U.S. participants, please contact Kai Ulrich at kulrich@gaccny.co or call (415) 248-1255.

Chicago, IL & Colorado – November 9-13, 2009.  GACCoM will be hosting a number of events for the WindEnergy Business Series. The WindEnergy Business 2009 events, which took place in Chicago,IL in February 2009, brought together over 450 companies and leaders in wind energy from both sides of the Atlantic. Many of the participants were able to find business partners and expanded their operations. Due to overwhelming popular demand, we look forward to another very successful event in November 2009.

On Monday, November 9, 2009 the WindEnergy Business Event Series starts off with a Networking Reception, with introductions to the Business Delegation from Germany. The day after, GACCoM will be hosting another WindEnergy Conference in Chicago.

The primary objective of the conference is to open a dialogue for partnership between companies from two of the world’s leading countries in wind energy technologies. The event includes a one-day conference that gives U.S. and German experts the opportunity to present current developments, innovations and perspectives in both countries. The conference will be followed by 1-on-1 partnering opportunities between the German delegation companies and U.S. industry representatives ranging from technology suppliers, system and component manufactures, developers, investors and other stakeholders that have an interest in the wind energy industry. Finally,  the German wind company delegation will stop over in Colorado for visits at manufacturers and wind energy sites.

For more information, please visit GACCoM's Green Corner or contact Bernadett Steiner at steiner@gaccom.org or (312) 494-2180.

Houston, TX - November 10, 2009. In the United States alone, buildings account for 72% of electricity consumption, 39% of energy use, 38% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and 14% of potable water consumption. In their Green Outlook 2009, McGraw Hill Construction predicts that the overall green building market (both non-residential and residential) is likely to more than double from today's $ 36-49 billion to $ 96-140 billion by 2013. "Green Buildings" are becoming a critical success factor for economical and environmental development. That is why the demand for energy efficient technologies is growing with an impressive speed in the USA.

"The Future of Green Buildings: 2nd German American Energy Efficiency Conference" will take place on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 in Houston, Texas. Leading German and U.S. experts will inform attendees about current trends in energy efficiency in buildings.

Keynote speakers include:

• Kevin W. Murphy, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Houston Chapter
• Sarah Talkington, Austin Energy Green Building
• Jim Broughton, Reihl Engineering, LLC
• Klaus Dilmetz, Department of Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Climate Protection, Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs
• Michael Kleber, Technical University Karlsruhe, Germany, Faculty of Architecture, Division of Building Physics & Building Services
• Susanne Lein, German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology
• Scott Mueller, Eclareon GmbH

The panel discussion about "What's ahead for Green Buildings in 2010" will be moderated by Philip Schneidau, CPM, CSM, President, BMS Management, Inc.

Also, 7 German energy efficiency companies will attend the conference for the purpose of establishing business relationships with Texas' companies.

This conference is organized by the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern U.S. in cooperation with the U.S. Green Building Council - Greater Houston Area Chapter (USGBC), Austin Energy's Green Building Program, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) as well as the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association (TREIA).

For more information and to register for this event, please visit www.gacctexas.com or contact Julia Zimmermann at jzimmermann@gaccsouth.com or (832) 384-1202. 

Biomass in Georgia - Transatlantic Climate Bridge

 Atlanta, GA – December 2, 2009. The German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern United States (GACC South), in cooperation with the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Atlanta, invites you to participate in the “Biomass in Georgia” conference. The event is presented as part of the “Transatlantic Climate Bridge” Initiative. Keynote speakers include among others, Lutz H. Görgens, Ph.D., Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Jill Stuckey, Director at the Center of Innovation for Energy, Devon Dartnell, Biomass Program Manager at the Georgia Forestry Commission and Eckhard Fangmeier, Chairman of the Bioenergy Village Jühnde.

Georgia is the nation’s leader in commercially-forested lands with 24.2 million acres and provides a reliable forest industry infrastructure. With strong environmental stewardship practices, Georgia's timberland produces 22 percent more wood annually than it harvests (5.7 million tons dry basis). The remaining forest land area is reserved forest land where timber removals are prohibited by law or unproductive forest land. Georgia knows investors are seeking profitable business opportunities, and producers are exploring new markets for their raw materials and new uses for their manufacturing facilities. For these reasons, Georgia is cultivating a pro-business governmental and regulatory environment willing to provide incentives for economic development in biomass production. In comparison, the total turnover in Germany in the bioenergy sector amounted to 10.23 billion Euro in 2007 and 96,100 people were employed, which illustrates Germany’s strong presence in this industry. [1]

By bringing together decision makers at federal and state levels, from American and German companies, from cities and city networks in Germany and the US, and from universities, research institutes, and think tanks, we are eager to create common solutions and market conditions to tackle one of the biggest challenges of all time – climate change.

For more information and to register for the conference, please contact Aryan Zandieh with the GACC South at +1 (404) 586-6837 or azandieh@gaccsouth.com.

[1] Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety

2nd German American Energy Conference

Berlin - March 22-23, 2010. Building on the success of the 1st German American Energy Conference in March 2009, we are proud to announce the repeat of this very successful event, which will take place at the House of German Business in Berlin in March 22-23, 2010. The 2nd German American Energy Conference, organized by the German American Chambers of Commerce and the German Energy Agency GmbH (dena), will not just cover topics from the Renewable Energy field but also from the Energy Efficiency sector. This time, special focus will be on the current incentives situation in the US on the federal and state level, as well as current developments, projects and experiences in the wind, solar, bioenergy and energy efficiency sectors. The German American Energy Conference is the primary event for German and US businesses in the transatlantic context when it comes to Renewables and Energy Efficiency, which is not to be missed!

Please contact Bernadett Steiner at steiner@gaccom.org or (312) 494-2180 for more information.

Germany - October 6-11, 2009. The German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest in Chicago and the Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Montreal organized a business trip for North American wind energy companies to Northern Germany a few weeks ago.
During this five day program, the Chambers lead eight Canadian and American wind energy companies on a journey throughout Germany, visiting manufacturing facilities, site demonstrations, wind farms and networking events.  From Hamburg to Bremerhaven, Bremen, Kiel, Aurich and Rostock, the companies were introduced to some of the most important players in the wind energy industry in Germany.

Company and site visits included:

The program was initiated and financed by Germany Trade & Invest, Germany's new foreign trade and inward investment agency, supported by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology of Germany and took place under the framework of the Export Promotion Program Renewable Energy.

For more information please contact Bernadett Steiner at steiner@gaccom.org or (312) 494-2180.

Atlanta, GA -  October 5 to 9, 2009. The Environmental Trade Mission (ETM) October 5^th through 8^th brought together state and local governments, metro area companies and organizations and 14 international companies, including representatives from Canada, Germany and Uganda, who manufacture green products and services. The Mission’s ongoing goal is to facilitate international commerce and investment by working with the various Atlanta based consulates, bi-national organizations and chambers of commerce to identify overseas companies and match them with the appropriate Atlanta based entities.

Kristian Wolf, CEO & President of the GACC South held the keynote speech to kick off the event: “German companies must transfer the vast experience gained in their domestic market over the years and apply it here. This is a perfect time to enter the US market: The interest in sustainability in the US is steadily increasing and we cannot miss this opportunity. Therefore, the environmental trade mission offers an unique platform to establish valuable contacts with potential US partners.”

The Visionary Award for International Environmental Stewardship, the first of its kind to be presented, was awarded to outgoing Mayor Shirley Franklin for her leadership in bringing together the Atlanta city government, local and metro businesses and the international community including business and government leaders for the benefit of preserving the environment locally to globally. By encouraging sustainability, conservation and research and development of new technologies and best practices Mayor Franklin has been recognized by the World Chamber of Commerce as one of the leaders in the environmental community.

Among the attendees at the Trade Mission Luncheon at which the mayor was a guest speaker were Lutz H. Görgens, Ph.D., Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Consul General Stephen Brereton, Consulate General of Canada, Atlanta, and Québec Government Delegate, Dr.Ginette Chenard, Quebec Government representative, Peggy McCormick, President, Atlanta Development Authority and Metro Atlanta Chamber and Consul General, Atlanta City commissioners Joseph Basista and Rob Hunter, Luz Borrero, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Republic Waste’s manager of government relations, Monica Moseley, Mayor Jeff Lukken of the City of LaGrange, the Honorable Sam Olens, Chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission and Cobb County Board of Commissioners, Solange Warner, founder and president of the World Chamber of Commerce and Alexander McCray founder of Greener Atlanta and organizer of the 2^nd Atlanta International Environmental Trade Mission and a number of Atlanta business and civic leaders.

Orlando, FL - September 29, 2009: More than 150 participants proved that solar energy is a booming market in Florida and brought the 3rd German American Solar Energy Conference on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 in Orlando, Florida, to a huge success. Key note speakers from Germany and the U.S. gave a detailed overview of the solar energy markets of both countries as well as presentations about newest cutting-edge technologies. Opening remarks were held by Klaus H. D. Ranner, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany to Florida, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands in Miami.

Keynote speakers were Representative Steve Precourt, House District 41, Chair of the Energy & Utilities Policy Committee, Scott Hennessey, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) in Washington, DC, John Crider, Gainesville Regional Utilities, Bruce Kershner, Florida Solar Energy Industries Association (FlaSEIA), Dr. Andreas Hermelink, Ecofys Germany, Markus Hoehner, EuPD Research, and Dr. Christine Wörlen, Arepo Consult.

This conference was organized by the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern United States (GACC South), Texas office in conjunction with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association (FlaSEIA) as well as Enterprise Florida. It was held on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at the Embassy Suites Orlando Downtown in Orlando, Florida and was sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.

For more information about this road show and to view some pictures, please visit www.gacctexas.com
or contact Julia Zimmermann at jzimmermann@gaccsouth.com or (832) 384-1202.

GACCoM's Renewables & Energy Efficiency Roadshow

Columbus, OH,  Ann Arbor, MI, Chicago, IL - September 1-3. "If we aim for common solutions, common standards, and common market conditions, we can plant the seeds for a new global 'green economy' and for a progressive and effective transatlantic climate policy," said opening keynote speaker, German Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Klaus Scharioth, during GACCoM's Annual Renewables & Energy Efficiency Roadshow in Columbus, OH on Sept. 1. As part of the Transatlantic Climate Bridge and in cooperation with the German Consulate General Chicago, the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest (GACCoM) organized a roadshow on renewable energy and energy efficiency at three important locations in the Midwest to further the transatlantic business relationship in these fields.

From Columbus, OH the roadshow made its way up north to Ann Arbor, MI where AWEA's (American Wind Energy Association) COO Britt Theismann illustrated the strong positive developments in the wind industry. Just last year, 35,000 jobs were added, bringing the total to 85,000 jobs, while the industry saw a 50% growth in total wind power generating capacity during the same year.  Other speakers focused on the local supply chain, reinforcing the importance of improving it, as currently 50% of components must be imported. With many companies currently retooling, some industry insider companies, such as Schunk Graphite Technology, underlined the importance of a local presence and focus on long-term relationships.

The last stop of the roadshow was Chicago, IL, where Scott Minos from the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy illustrated the current state of the Recovery Act as it pertains to the renewable energy industry, and encouraged foreign companies to apply as stimulus money is still being distributed and contracted through until the end of the year.

With more than 20 speakers throughout the three days of the Roadshow, a total of about 300 attendees, and more than 200 live online viewers, the Roadshow was once again a great success.

All presentations and video clips of the conference can be downloaded and viewed at www.gaccom.org. For further information on GACCoM's Annual Renewables & Energy Efficiency Roadshow, please contact Bernadett Steiner at steiner@gaccom.org or (312) 494 2180. 

Every year the German Wind Energy Association (BWE) publishes its market survey Wind Energy Market. It is a comprehensive overview of the international wind energy industry. We are proud to announce that we offer the newest edition of this survey now for North America.

Over the past years, this BWE Market Survey has established its position as both an extremely valuable and highly appreciated tool for keeping track of the steadily growing wind energy market.

On more than 200 pages this standard work of reference includes:

• 40 wind turbines
• Trends & innovations, German wind energy market
• The novelty of world wind maps giving an overview of wind potential for instance in Canada, the Middle East, Central America, East Asia, etc
• A guest article by Lord Nicholas Stern about principles for limiting the risks from climate change
• Articles about the political conditions at the Spanish and German wind energy market.
• An overview about the development in the global market.
• Information about the use of small wind turbines.
• The power supply 2020 with the focus on wind energy

This publication can be purchased for $ 75.00 plus shipping and handling. Please click here for more information and to purchase this publication.