Panelists

Xavier Vallvé, Board Member, Alliance for Rural Electrification

Presentation
Xavier Vallvé is a Member of the Board of ARE (Alliance for Rural Electrification) and a Member of the Board Secartys. He has also been project director or lead consultant for private and government clients and for projects with UNDP, UNOPS, UNIDO, UNEP, AECID, IDB, WB, EC and other agencies. Mr. Vallvé has more than 25 years of experience in renewable energy rural electrification projects for distributed generation both grid-tied to the national grids and autonomous RE hybrid technology for islands and isolated villages. This involves complementary interdisciplinary skills in economic, social and management aspects as well as engineering experience in RE generation and storage. In RE distributed generation and micro grids, he has been involved in feasibility studies, engineering, project management and commissioning of many PV rural micro grids in isolated villages in Africa, Asia and South America. He has also been an active member in international codes and standards committees on this subject. Mr. Vallvé studied engineering at the University of Waterloo in Canada and received a M.Sc. degree in 1979. In 1986 he co-founded in Barcelona, Spain the engineering and consultancy firm Trama TecnoAmbiental, S.L. where he currently is an associated partner. He is also the director of and a lecturer in the Master’s degree program (“Master en Ingeniería y Gestión de las Energías Renovables") at IL3 (University of Barcelona).

Thomas Samuel, Founder, Sunna Design

Presentation
Thomas Samuel is the founder of Sunna Design. He is a French mechanical engineer and since 2012 has been based in France where he has initiated an R&D program with CEA / INES regarding energy management and energy storage. Prior to this, he worked for Aurore, a rural electrification foundation based in south India for developing an efficient solar street light. Mr. Samuel has also traveled extensively in Africa, South America and Asia and has volunteered for various energy-related NGOs.

José Gabriel Martín Fernández, Project Manager, ACCIONA Microenergy Foundation

Presentation
José Gabriel Martín Fernández has been a project manager at ACCIONA Microenergy Foundation since February 2012. He joined ACCIONA in 2007 as project staff in the Strategic Department and in 2009 became a manager in the R&D Department. Prior to joining ACCIONA, Mr. Fernández was a senior consultant in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Energy and Environmental Department. Mr. Fernández is a chemical engineer and holds both an Executive MBA and a Master’s degree in “Renewable Energies and Energetic Market” from the Escuela de Organización industrial (EOI) in Madrid, Spain.

Romina Arcamone, International Business Development Manager for Renewable Energy, Trojan Battery Company

Presentation
Romina Arcamone Garcia is the international business development manager for renewable energy at Trojan Battery Company. Garcia is responsible for identifying business opportunities with potential renewable energy customers in Trojan’s key international markets including Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. She also focuses on broadening existing relationships with key players in the renewable energy market to form strategic partnerships expanding Trojan Battery’s presence in renewable energy projects around the world. In addition, Ms. Garcia examines and analyzes trends in the renewable energy market and advises Trojan’s executive management team on strategies for developing, planning and monitoring renewable energy project opportunities.

Moderator: Vickie Healey, Project Lead, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Introduction: Richenda Van Leeuwen, Executive Director, Energy and Climate, Energy Access Initiative, UN Foundation (Presentation)