Events

Winston & Strawn energy partner Jerry Bloom, who is based in the firm's Los Angeles office and serves as chair of the firm's energy practice area, moderated a panel discussion during the second annual Solar Energy Investment and Finance Summit held on November 12-13, 2009 in San Francisco. Winston & Strawn also served as a sponsor of this event.

Mr. Bloom's panel, titled "Securing Venture Capital Investment in a Tight Credit Market," examined the following topics:

• What are the current trends in venture capital investments in the solar sector? 
• What projects are venture capitalists in favor of and why? 
• What is the criteria venture capitalists are using to evaluate whether they'll invest in your project or not?

Joining Mr. Bloom on this panel was Abe Yokell, Principal, from RockPort Capital Partners; Marc van den Berg, Managing Director, of VantagePoint Venture Partners; Chad Sachs, VP Finance, from Renewable Ventures, a Fotowatio Company; and Jon Sakoda, Partner, from New Enterprise Associates.

Other topics for discussion at this year's Summit included: 

• Project financing after the financial crisis
• The latest on renewable energy policies and legislation affecting the U.S. solar industry
• The realities of tax equity financing in the current economic climate
• The changing role of utilities in the solar industry