Washington DC Energy & Environmental Funders

Standard Solar:
Making Residential Photovoltaic Systems Standard
Sector Expert Scott Sklar on the Outlook for Solar Electric Installers

Hosting Sponsor:
Andrews Kurth LLP

The Center for Economic and Environmental Partnership, Inc., will sponsor its next Washington, DC Energy & Environmental Funders’ meeting on Friday November 2nd, 2007.

Standard Solar Inc. is an energy services company that installs and maintains solarelectric systems for residential and small commercial customers in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Unlike most of today's fragmented retail solar installers, who are part-time, marginally profitable enterprises that install one-off systems, lack economies of scale and other benefits of standardization, Standard Solar is building a multi-region operation based on marketing, retail consolidation, product standardization, branding, service, and education. Anthony Clifford, President, will describe Standard Solar's competitive strategy, which is to dominate the mid-Atlantic region's market in residential and small commercial installations, and then to roll up the best of the independent solarelectric system installers that currently dominate the business, into a cohesive, efficient, productive, and profitable venture that can grow into America's first branded national solar service company, making solar power systems convenient to purchase and worry-free for the American homeowner.

Standard Solar commenced commercial operations in July 2006. By July 2007, total revenues since inception had topped $1,000,000. Through July, YTD 2007 revenues were approximately $671,000 - with 52% of those revenues coming in June and July. The Company has been profitable for the past two months and, without additional investment, expects to be profitable for the year on revenues of approximately $1.4 million - a 350% increase over 2006 revenues. Standard Solar is currently installing one system per week and is "sold out" through September.

The Company is presently installing solarelectric systems in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, with a current staff of twelve full-time and contract employees. In one year of operations, the Company has become the leading installer of residential solarelectric systems in the DC metro area. Standard Solar has achieved its level of success in a region without any substantial state or local incentives for solar. However, the environment for solar in the mid-Atlantic states is changing dramatically in the immediate future, and the Company anticipates that its business will grow substantially in the coming months as a result of recent legislation providing substantial new solar incentives in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware, pending national legislation, pending legislation in Washington, DC, and the company's participation in the BP Solar/Home Depot residential solar program.

The Company is seeking $1,000,000 in new equity, which will allow it to take immediate advantage of the substantial upsurge in customer interest in residential PV systems through 2008 in the Washington, DC metropolitan market (including DC, suburban Maryland and northern Virginia) and to expand regionally into geographically adjacent markets in the rest of Maryland, Delaware and central and southeastern Pennsylvania. From this base, the Company intends to begin its national rollout late in 2009.

Sector Expert: Scott Sklar, President of The Stella Group, Ltd., will discuss the outlook for Standard Solar's services in light of the expanding and increasingly incentivized markets for solar installations in the Washington DC metropolitan area, and evaluate the company's regional and national expansion strategy.

Date: Friday, November 2, 2007
Time: 8:00 – 10:00 am
Place: Andrews Kurth LLP
1350 I Street, NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006
202-662-2700

Nearest Metro stop: The building is between 13th and 14th Street. You can exit at McPherson Square and cross the street to the building or exit Metro Center on 13th Street (and G Street) and walk up to 13th and I, where you make a left and cross the street.

Cost: $50 if you pre-register.
Cash or checks (payable to CEEP) accepted. Must register or cancel by 4pm the previous day. No shows will be invoiced.
$60 if you pay at the door.
See below for Annual Registration opportunities and other important conditions.

Agenda:
8:00 to 8:20 – Networking with Members
8:30 to 9:00 – Presentation by Anthony Clifford, President and Director, Standard Solar
9:00 to 9:30 – Presentation by Sector Expert: Scott Sklar, President, The Stella Group, Ltd.
9:30 to 10:00 – Discussion and Networking

Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you at the next DC Funders meeting.

If you have any questions about registration or need more information about the program, please contact Gelvin Stevenson at gelvin@optonline.net.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:

Anthony Clifford, President and Director, is an experienced, highly qualified CEO/CFO with thirty years experience in the management and financing of technology-based hardware businesses. He has substantial P&L experience, and has successfully sold technology businesses to Nikon Corporation, Wackenhut Corporation and, earlier in his career, he was instrumental in positioning the company and negotiating the sale of Solarex Corporation to AMOCO (now BP Solar). He is a skillful negotiator, fundraiser, and creator of corporate strategic alliances. He has served as CEO of Witten Technologies, Jacksonville, FL, LearningStream, Inc of Silver Spring, MD, ETOM Technologies, Rockville, MD and Chairman and CFO of MOST, Inc., an optical disk drive manufacturer based in Cypress, CA. Possessing an MBA from the University of Virginia and a BA from Penn State University, Mr. Clifford joined Solarex Corporation in 1975. As Vice President for Corporate Development, he had executive-level finance, business development and government relations responsibilities; and he was instrumental in growing this start-up company into a world-leading photovoltaic manufacturer. He was Co-founder of the Renewable Energy Institute and author of a DOE Report entitled "Tax Incentive Financing for Renewable Energy Projects."

Scott Sklar runs his strategic marketing and policy firm, The Stella Group, Ltd, which he founded in 1995 and came on full time to lead in 1999. The firm facilitates clean distributed energy including advanced batteries and controls, energy efficiency, heat engines, minigeneration, microhydropower, modular biomass, photovoltaics, small wind and solar thermal. It specializes in blending technologies and financing for projects, assisting companies to scale-up to market penetration, and facilitating federal and state agencies to expand the market penetration of their policies and programs.

Previously, for 15 years, Sklar served concurrently as Executive Director of two national trade associations, the Solar Energy Industries Association and the National BioEnergy Industries Association. For two years prior to that, Sklar was Political Director of The Solar Lobby, a renewable energy advocacy group founded by the big nine US environmental organizations. Before that, he served as Washington Director for two years and Acting RD&D Director for one year of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), a federally-funded applied technology institution promoting renewables and energy efficiency for local communities both in the US and globally.

Sklar started his energy career serving as a military and energy aide to Senator Jacob K Javits (NY) on his Washington personal and Committee staff for nine years, and co-founded the Congressional Solar Caucus, which shaped most of the renewable energy legislation passed by the US Congress in the mid-1970's, as a result of the first and second oil embargos..

He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of three national non-profits: Business Council for Sustainable Energy (climate change), Renewable Energy Policy Project (energy analysis), and the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (building trades). He also serves as Steering Committee Chairman of the Sustainable Energy Coalition.

Advisory Board

Zachary Alexander, ebT Design, LLC
Bob Lawrence, Bob Lawrence & Associates
Mark Riedy, Andrews Kurth LLC
Ira Rubenstein, CEEP Inc.
Gelvin Stevenson, Ph.D., Center for Economic and Environmental Partnership, Inc.
Michael Ware, Advance Capital Markets, Inc.

DCE&EF Pricing Policy
1. Cost, with pre-registration up to 4pm the day before the meeting: $50.
2. No-shows will be invoiced.
3. Cancellations allowed until 4pm the day before the meeting.
4. Cost, with registration at the door the day of the meeting: $60.
5. All paid registrants will be emailed any information made available electronically for that meeting.
6. An Annual Registration for DCE&EF can be purchased for $400. It will provide admittance to all regularly scheduled meetings held during a 12-month period.
7. Annual registrants will be emailed any information made available electronically for any of the regularly scheduled meetings covered by their annual registration.

Formed in February 2004, DC Energy & Environmental Funders (DCE&EF) is a joint service of Investors Circle, the Energy & Environmental Capital Network (ECN), the Environmental Business Association of New York State, Inc. (EBA/NYS), Investors Circle and Cleantech Venture Network LLC (Cleantech). DCE&EF provides networking, information, and other services to investors interested in energy and environmental companies. DCE&EF activities are produced by the Center for Economic and Environmental Partnership, Inc. (CEEP) in furtherance of its educational mission.

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