The credit crunch, which has had a major impact on the strategy of the start-up companies, is going to be one of the key sessions of the forthcoming 3rd Concentrated Solar Power Summit US.

Even as no new concentrating solar power plants were completed in the US last year, projects totalling more than 6,000 MW are in the pipeline, most of them with signed purchase power agreements.

This may indicate that CSP is set to expand its presence, but at the same time, it is clear that the solar industry has not been immune to the global economic crisis.

Many companies are encountering problems accessing sufficient credit; a few have announced significant layoffs. Several major institutional investors have decreased their involvement in renewables in response to the global credit pressures.

Considering the current status, is the CSP industry currently facing a crucial moment in its development?

Michael Bernier, Tax Credit Investment Advisory Services, Ernst & Young, certainly thinks so.

"The credit crunch has changed the business strategy of CSP developers. The business strategy of the start-up companies, being the developer of projects the size and scope that is contemplated, is under attack," says Bernier, who is scheduled to speak during the 3rd Concentrated Solar Power Summit US, to be held in San Francisco on June 30 - July 1 this year.

Significantly, Bernier says the relative success of the first couple of projects will go a long way in determining how successful the industry is going to be in the long term.

"Once the industry has a couple of successful projects up and running, it will be easier for everyone to understand what it will take to develop a project, what the key pressure points are etc.," added Bernier.

Considering the current situation, it is imperative to understand possible mitigations and avoid common pitfalls, and even the ongoing changes in the external environment such as the impact of the stimulus package.

Bernier, along with other industry experts including Kevin Blackman, Managing Director, Terrawell Energy Group, Mohammed Alam, President, Alyra Renewable Energy Finance LLC and Nathan Campbell, Vice President, Macquarie Capital, is scheduled to speak during the 3rd Concentrated Solar Power Summit US, to be held in San Francisco on June 30 - July 1 this year.

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Contact: Sara Lloyd-Jones by email sara@csptoday.com