8.30 Coffee & Registration

9.00 Chair`s Opening Remarks

Adrienne Baker, Director, Canadian Clean Energy Conferences

9.05 Opening keynote: Nova Scotia's Renewable Energy Roadmap

Hon. Charlie Parker, Nova Scotia Minister of Energy & Natural Resources

9.25 The Renewable Electricity Plan: Progress Report and Next Steps

• An update on the successes and challenges of the COMFIT and RFP programs
• Understanding the potential and the drivers for additional renewables in the province including provincial GHG targets and the Atlantic Energy Gateway initiative

9.50  Future Opportunities for IPPs in Atlantic Canada

The province’s Renewable Energy Administrator (REA) will discuss how to facilitate renewable energy project development across the Maritime Provinces.

• Next steps for IPPs in Nova Scotia and across the region
• Renewable energy opportunities in NS, NB, Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI and New England
• Challenges and opportunities for exporting to New England
• Enabling future renewable energy projects in the region

John Dalton, Nova Scotia Renewable Electricity Administrator & President, Power Advisory LLC

10.10 Q&A with Session Speakers

10.20 Networking Break

Session 1: Grid Connection and Integration Solutions in Nova Scotia

This session will offer an update on connecting COMFIT and RFP projects and solutions for integrating renewable energy projects in Nova Scotia with insights from Nova Scotia Power Inc. and project owners. 

• What has been the experience so far with connecting COMFIT projects?
• What is the expected timeline and outlook for connecting RFP projects?
• Ideas for improving distribution capacity at certain points of the grid
• Developers’ views on wind curtailment plans and balancing risk

12.15 Networking Lunch Sponsored by McCallum Environmental

Session 2: COMFIT Review Implications and Project Execution

This session will offer a timely update on the key considerations of the COMFIT Review for project owners, investors and suppliers. It will also offer insights into what project owners need to know about building and operating wind farms including examples of successful collaboration between IPPs and communities.  

• Purpose, structure and timescale of the Review
• Understanding the likely impacts on current and future projects

• Practicalities of signing a wind turbine supply agreement
• Meeting financing, permitting, and turbine delivery challenges
• Other important areas of consideration for COMFIT proponents

• What solutions and partnership models are evolving between IPPs and COMFIT proponents?
• What are the best options for handling project management responsibilities?
• Lessons learned on unexpected costs and challenges of project implementation
• The outlook for competition for small turbine suppliers
• Insight on navigating environmental approvals and meeting timelines
• What do COMFIT owners need to be aware of in terms of construction challenges?
• The realities of managing wind energy facilities over the long-term – staffing, costs, etc.

WIND STREAM

Session 3: Current and Future RFPs in Nova Scotia: 

What Developers and Suppliers Need to Know

This session will offer insight from IPPs on the current RFP and the future business climate for large-scale wind in Nova Scotia. It will also examine how big wind suppliers view opportunities in the region and the impacts of pricing and policy developments. 

• Developers views on the RFP and the challenges ahead for large-scale wind
• Should developers evolve their business to look for sites close to transmission rather than those that offer the best wind?
• How do IPPs view the long-term potential for big wind in Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada
• How are developers addressing key challenges such as grid connection and curtailment?

• How do suppliers view the business outlook and long-term sustainability of the market?
• How are low prices and the status of the US Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit impacting turbine suppliers?
• Where are the supply gaps in the region and how are manufacturers addressing those gaps?
• What is the long-term outlook for the local wind industry – can it be sustained beyond 2015?

5.30 Networking Drinks

SOLAR STREAM sponsored by

Solar Industry Stakeholders Think Tank –

Driving Solar Project Development in Nova Scotia

• What is the current state of the solar industry in Nova Scotia in terms of suppliers, manufacturers, installers, projects etc.?
• Where would the local industry be challenged if there was government support for a solar PV or solar thermal program?
• What have been the barriers for building a local solar industry in Nova Scotia?
• What does the industry currently rely on in terms of outside expertise and supply for solar projects?
• What sort of opportunities and challenges does industry see for driving solar forward in the region?

• What does industry see as the ideal structure/program for supporting the development of solar PV in the province – FIT, RFP, etc.?
• What are some of the key considerations when looking at solar PV in an NS context – suppliers, grid capacity etc.?
• Ideas on what a solar PV market could look like in Nova Scotia – project sizes, ownership models etc.?
• Could solar thermal work under COMFIT model?
• What lessons can be learned from solar PV Feed-in Tariff and RFP in other jurisdictions – i.e. Ontario, US, Europe?
• What are some of the latest developments in solar technology that are shaping the industry and should be considered in developing a program to support projects?

• How can industry work with industry associations and other partners to prepare for and shape policy developments?
• What projects are ongoing to prepare for a PV market – i.e. the development of best practices for solar installers?
• What other initiatives should be developed to ensure the success of solar in the province?
• What other key stakeholders and questions are necessary to involve and consider as part of this process? (I.e. system operator)

Forum Day Two -  September 25th , 2012

7.45 Networking Coffee

8.00 Breakfast Seminar: Energy Storage – A Panacea for Wind Integration?

Nova Scotia is leading the way in developing energy storage solutions for wind farms that address the key challenges of curtailment, dispatchability and project siting. The innovations in this region will help drive energy storage solutions for renewables globally. This breakfast will highlight key technological developments in the region and detail pilot projects between developers and storage providers. Find out how the economics of energy storage can work for renewables and open up new possibilities for project development.

In this opening panel, leading CEOs of companies that are investing in renewable energy projects in the region will discuss what needs to happen to drive renewables forward in Atlantic Canada.

• What visions do industry leaders have for renewables in region?
• What needs to happen to achieve this potential?
• Do existing policy frameworks adequately support the further development of renewables, and if not, what changes would help drive such opportunities in the region?
• What are key factors determining the growth of the region's renewable energy sector:grid capacity constraints, gas pricing, ratepayer concerns, the role of Muskrat Falls and the Maritime Transmission Link, an export market to the US?

10.45 Accessing the New England Market: Barriers and Opportunities

11.05 Networking Break

11.45 Session 4: Regional Initiatives and Opportunities for Renewables 

• The latest update on provincial renewable energy policy developments
• How are greenhouse gas reduction targets developing and what does this mean for renewables?
• Will these policies and green energy targets create new business for IPPs and suppliers?
• How are the Maritime Provinces coordinating on energy policy and infrastructure developments?

Session 6: COMFIT Project Financing and Partnership Opportunities

With over 100 MW approved, Nova Scotia’s COMFIT program has been successful in incentivizing the development of small-scale, community-led renewable energy projects. This session will highlight some of the innovative partnership models evolving for COMFIT projects and the opportunities for IPPs and investors to participate. How are the challenges of project size and ownership restrictions being overcome?            

• Being a good company first: the goal is profitable operation
• Communication strategy: build the message of local ownership
• Roles of Directors in the community and share offerings

• What financing and partnership models are developing for COMFIT projects?
• What do investors find attractive when considering a minority stake in smaller projects?
• What fundamentals need to be in place for a project to attract early stage financing?
• What are some strategies for CEDIFs to successfully raise equity from local communities?
• What are some of the options emerging for debt financing?
• What opportunities are there for developers to partner with COMFIT proponents?

3.00 Networking Break

• Do IPPs see community acceptance becoming a challenge as it has in Ontario?
• What have municipalities experienced in terms of public response to community-scale wind?
• Best practices for educating and involving local communities in wind power
• Understanding what tools are already available for community engagement
• How can IPPs and municipalities collaborate on public acceptance?

4.30 Conference Close