CalPERS President to Address Renewable Energy

CalPERS President to Address Renewable Energy

"Renewable energy represents a new growth opportunity for investors and lenders in US energy markets."

- Michael Eckhart, President of ACORE

New York, New York - June 1, 2004 [SolarAccess.com] Sean Harrigan, President of the Board of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) will deliver one of the keynote speeches at the upcoming "Renewable Energy Finance Forum: Wall Street," to take place June 23-24, 2004 at the Metropolitan Club in New York City.

CalPERS, the nation's largest public pension fund with assets totaling over $167 billion, recently announced they will commit up to US$200 million as part of the Green Wave initiative led by California Treasurer Phil Angelides.

Harrigan will join more than forty leading figures in clean and renewable energy finance to present perspectives on the current renewable energy marketplace and review recent transactions. The conference is co-organized by the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) and Euromoney, the publisher of Institutional Investor Magazine.

"Renewable energy represents a new growth opportunity for investors and lenders in US energy markets," said Michael Eckhart, President of ACORE. "Investment in many renewable energy sectors is experiencing year-on-year growth rates of 20% and even 30%. The best deals are getting done, and the most knowledgeable investors and lenders are doing them."

Speakers from the financial community will include top professionals from TCW, Fortis Bank, Dexia Credit, Babcock & Brown, Credit Suisse First Boston, ArcLight, Marathon Capital, New Energy Capital, Nth Power, Perseus, and others. Industry speakers include top executives from GE Wind Energy, Cape Wind Associates, and American Electric Power. Public policy issues will also be addressed at the conference, by top players such as Katie McGinty, former head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and now Pennsylvania's Secretary of Environment; Peter Smith, President of the New York State Energy Research & Development Agency; and John Geesman, Commissioner on the California Energy Commission, all of whom manage large pools of public sector funds.

"A number of recent events, many of them challenging in and of themselves, are nevertheless enhancing the prospects for success in renewable energy investment," said Dan Reicher, a conference co-chair, former US Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and now President of New Energy Capital.

Reicher noted that security issues surrounding mid-East oil supplies and high oil and natural gas prices are accelerating interest in renewable energy investment. He also noted the U.S. Senate's recent enactment of clean energy tax credits as another significant investment driver.

For Further Information:

• ACORE

• Euromoney Energy Events

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