Columbia University’s Vasilis M. Fthenakis, one of the world’s foremost experts on solar energy, will be speaking about business opportunities based on solar energy, including desalination, and PV recycling.

Fthenakis is founder and Director of the Center for Life Cycle Analysis (CLCA) at Columbia’s Department of Earth & Environmental Engineering. He is also a Senior Scientist Emeritus at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) where he conducted research for 36 years and directed the National Photovoltaic (PV) Environmental Research Center.

He is co-author, among many others, of the research publications “Electricity from Sunlight: Photovoltaic-Systems Integration and Sustainability” and “A Grand Plan for Solar Energy”.

His multi-disciplinary work is a crucial part of the scholarly landscape for comparing renewable energy technologies with conventional energy options and is assisting the current large scale penetration of PV into the European and US electricity grids. Other representative examples of his work encompass PV module recycling (three patterns), the optimal approach to handling CdTe panels, especially during potential fire circumstances, and elimination of lead from soldered strings in crystalline silicon modules.

The event will be chaired by Paula Estévez, a Columbia alumna who heads the international affairs division at the Ministry of Energy.

* The conference will be in English; parking available at Parque Bicentenario or at Hotel Atton Vitacura (Av Vitacura 3201).

This program is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal #7 “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy”.

How to Attend

Registration is requested. Use the Sign Up link below.

Organized By: Columbia University