Utility-Scale Solar Power I: Trends in Development, Construction & Operation

Stefan Müller is co-founder, shareholder of Enerparc AG and since end of 2008 as a board member responsible for international and operational business for the group. He worked over 25 years for larger players in the photovoltaic industry in Europe and Asia. Enerparc is an international specialist in the whole value chain of large-scale photovoltaic power plants, from greenfield development to EPC, O&M and energy trading. The company was founded in 2008 and has 500 internationally experienced employees with offices in Hamburg, India, Australia, France, Spain and a number of registered partners in various regions. In the last years Enerparc Group successfully connected globally more than 4.500 MW to the grid and it meanwhile operates 3.500 MW of own PV power plants.

Rachel Owens is a senior leader with over 16 years of experience in sustainable finance, climate change, human rights, corporate accountability, and anti-corruption. She is the CEO of the Solar Stewardship Initiative, where she leads efforts to promote ethical practices in the global solar sector. Rachel also serves as a Non-Executive Board Director at Eurosif, the European Sustainable Investment Forum and at Global Witness, where she plays a key role in overseeing strategy and governance. Previously, Rachel served as Director of Climate Finance at the European Climate Foundation, where she developed and implemented the foundation's International Climate Finance strategy. From 2015 to 2022, Rachel worked at Global Witness, establishing the organization's first EU office and leading high-profile campaigns on corporate accountability, climate and anti-corruption. successfully advocating for changes to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Earlier in her career, Rachel served as Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the European Parliament's Economic Committee, where she led the legislative process on key financial services and economic policies including on transparency in the oil and gas sector.

Mr. Barandalla has more than 15 years of experience in the solar photovoltaic industry as a renewable energy consultant and project manager. He currently serves as a Solar Advisory Lead for UL Solutions Advisory Team in Europe and Latin America. He has relevant experience in lender's (technical due diligence review and independent engineering services) and owner's engineer tasks for solar PV projects developed worldwide. Daniel has worked in key Merge and Acquisition (M&A) transactions for UL Solutions key clients overseeing portfolios of operating and development Solar PV assets worldwide. Furthermore, prior to joining UL Solutions, he focused as TA on commercial activities in Latin America with good expertise on Projects in Mexico, Chile, Brazil and other areas in Central America. He has been previously involved in Projects in the Asia Pacific Region, with experience in PV module audit inspections as well as providing training solutions for different stakeholders.

Dr. Benedikt Ortmann is Global Director for Origination & Business Development Projects for the BayWa r.e. Group. He has more than 20 years of extensive experience in the renewable energy sector. Before joining the BayWa r.e. team in 2011, he was CFO at S.A.G. Solarstrom AG in Freiburg and built up the international project business of SOLON SE in Berlin, developing it into a successful and highly profitable division. At BayWa r.e., his current focus is on the origination and development of new markets, technologies and on sales for the entire projects business, including wind, solar and new technologies. BayWa r.e. is one of the key companies driving renewable energy development worldwide. The company provides end-to-end project solutions, ongoing operations management and is an Independent Power Producer with an expanding energy trading business. The company has installed solar, wind and battery capacity of more than 6 GW. BayWa r.e,'s joint shareholders are BayWa AG, a globally successful business with revenues of €23.9 billion, and Energy Infrastructure Partners, a market leader in energy infrastructure investment that manages over €7 billion from global investors.

Alexandra is Senior Construction Contracts Manager at Engie Renewables. She is responsible for setting contracting standards and supporting project development and execution worldwide. With a career dedicated to the design and construction industries, Alexandra specializes in complex international contracts for infrastructure and energy projects. Passionate about collaboration and solution-driven dealmaking, she focuses on building strong partnerships to drive successful project outcomes.