Talks & Appearances

Events & Presentations.

Conference presentations, webinars, podcast appearances, and upcoming events featuring Jon Previtali on solar hail risk, renewable energy due diligence, and project finance.

For Nolan Erck’s conference presentations and speaking engagements in software development, visit his professional blog ↗.

Upcoming Events

Solarplaza Emerging Leaders Program — March 31, 2026  ·  San DiegoPresentation

Asset Management Starts with Due Diligence ↗

Jon presents a session on technical, financial, and contractual due diligence for PV and BESS projects at Solarplaza’s Emerging Leaders Program — a training day for new professionals entering solar and storage asset management. The program precedes the Solarplaza Summit Asset Management North America, April 1–2.

Presentations, Webinars & Podcasts

2025

Intersolar & Energy Storage North America — February 2025Conference Panel

Energy Storage Safety Best Practices Panel ↗

Jon took to the stage in San Diego to discuss best practices for energy storage safety. Joined by Mike Nicholas of The Hiller Companies, Wes Fuller and Craig Horne of Energy Vault, and Kyle Smith of McCarthy Building Companies.

NREL PV Reliability Workshop — March 2025Presentation

Effectiveness of Hail Stow in Photovoltaic Systems ↗

Empirical validation of hail stow effectiveness in preventing catastrophic solar project losses, drawing on forensic analysis of real-world hail events. Representing VDE Americas.

Array Technologies Webinar — 2025Webinar

Defending Your Solar Assets: Lessons in Extreme Weather Preparedness and Mitigation ↗

Jon presented VDE Americas’ forensic analysis of the Fort Bend County, Texas hailstorms alongside Array Technologies, covering how their DuraTrack and SmarTrack systems performed during the back-to-back 500-year hail events and best practices for hail stow protocol implementation.

Solarplaza SAMNA — 2025Panel

Panelist — Solarplaza Summit Asset Management North America ↗

Jon appeared as a listed speaker at North America’s leading solar asset management conference, alongside Nextracker’s Jyoti Jain and other industry leaders. Jon has appeared at SAMNA across multiple years.

All-Energy Australia — October 2025Conference Panel

Panel Speaker — All-Energy Australia, Melbourne ↗

Jon spoke on a GameChange Solar-sponsored panel at the Southern Hemisphere’s largest clean energy event, covering hail risk assessment and mitigation for the Australian solar market. The appearance coincided with VDE Americas’ formal international expansion of its Hail Risk Intelligence services.

pv magazine Webinar — November 2025Webinar

Protecting Australian Solar Projects Against Extreme Wind and Hail Risks ↗

Jon joined CPP Wind Engineering and GameChange Solar’s Chief Engineer Scott Van Pelt to discuss advanced hail and wind risk assessment for solar projects in Australia and the antipodean region, hosted by pv magazine.

pv magazine Week Europe — December 2025Conference Panel

Module Quality & Risk Session — pv magazine Week Europe ↗

Jon spoke on hail risk in the European solar market at pv magazine’s virtual conference, identifying Italy, the Balkan coast, and eastern Spain as emerging hail risk hotspots and recommending beyond-IEC testing standards for European project developers and insurers.

2024

NREL PV Reliability Workshop — February 2024Session Chair & Presentation

Session Chair, “Current Events” — and Hail Risk Co-Presentation ↗

Session chair for a major plenary session, plus co-presenter with Peter Bostock and Kyle Elser on hail risk assessment methodology. Representing VDE Americas.

Infocast Solar + Wind Finance Summit — March 12, 2024Panelist

Technical Due Diligence in Tax Equity Transactions

Jon joined fellow panelists to discuss how technical due diligence intersects with tax equity structuring — covering documentation standards, risk identification, and the technical conditions that drive or derail tax equity commitments.

Infocast Tax Credits & Transferability Summit — September 19, 2024Panelist

Hail Risk and Mitigation

Jon participated in a panel focused on managing physical risks for renewable energy assets in the post-IRA tax credit landscape. Discussion covered the increasing frequency and severity of hail events in the southern U.S., technical mitigation strategies including “stow early and stow often” protocols for solar trackers, and the impact of extreme weather data on project insurance and financing.

pv magazine Webinar — December 2024Webinar

The Benefits of Hail- and Wind-Resistant Solar Modules ↗

Jon joined Trinasolar and Kiwa PVEL to explore the technical, insurance, and bankability benefits of hail- and wind-resistant module designs across utility-scale, C&I, community solar, and residential markets.

2023

ACP Resource & Technology Conference — November 2023Conference Panel

Change in the Weather: Understanding Risks to Increased Frequency and Severity of Extreme Events ↗

Jon joined speakers from DNV, Natural Power, Avangrid Renewables, and TMEIC for the closing panel of ACP’s Resource & Technology Conference in Austin, Texas, moderated by DNV’s Daran Rife. The session examined the financial and operational implications of more frequent and severe weather events for renewable energy assets. Representing VDE Americas.

2021

NREL PV Reliability Workshop — February 2021Session Chair

Session Chair, “Catastrophic Weather and Insurance” ↗

Co-chaired with Simran Raju of DNV·GL. The session covered post-storm forensic EL analysis, hail risk modeling, and reinsurer perspectives on CAT risk in solar. Representing Wells Fargo.

PV ModuleTech — March 2021Presentation

Module Technical Diligence and Quality Assurance Requirements ↗

Wells Fargo REEF’s approach to module-level technical diligence, quality assurance requirements, and bankability standards for tax equity investments.

Solar and Storage Finance USA — 2021Panel

Panelist — Solar and Storage Finance USA ↗

Representing Wells Fargo REEF alongside executives from Ameresco, Energy Impact Partners, Nexamp, and other leading renewable energy finance organizations.

2018–2020

Norton Rose Fulbright — Currents PodcastPodcast

The Orange Button Data Standard for Solar Finance ↗

Jon and Tom Tansy of the SunSpec Alliance joined host Todd Alexander to discuss the DOE-backed Orange Button initiative — a data standard designed to reduce transaction costs and improve efficiency in solar project finance. Representing Wells Fargo.

SEPA — SAMNA Conference CoverageConference Panel

Solar Risk Management: 5 Key Takeaways from SAMNA ↗

Extensive coverage of Jon’s panel remarks at the Solarplaza Summit Asset Management North America on bank underwriting of technical performance risk, data transparency, and the role of insurers as natural owners of solar production risk.

2015

NREL PV Module Reliability Workshop — February 2015Presentation

Financers/Investors/Owners — IECRE Certification Workshop ↗

The lender and investor perspective on PV module certification and the IECRE system, alongside Hartford Steam Boiler and VDE’s Peter Bostock. Representing Wells Fargo.

2013

Intersolar North America — July 2013Presentation

Achieving High Penetration PV on Rooftops through Smart Grid Integration

How distributed PV generation can be scaled on commercial and residential rooftops through smart grid integration strategies. Representing Black & Veatch.

Solar Power-Gen Conference — February 2013Presentation

Diagnosing Performance Issues within Your Solar PV Plant

Practical methodology for diagnosing and resolving underperformance in operating solar PV plants, drawing on independent engineering experience across utility-scale and distributed generation portfolios. Representing Black & Veatch.

2012

Intersolar North America — July 2012Presentation

Modeling the Effects of Snow & Ice on PV

Modeling approaches and performance impacts of snow and ice accumulation on solar energy production, with implications for energy yield assessments and project risk. Representing Black & Veatch.

Solar Power-Gen Conference — February 2012Presentation

Assessing the Risks in Solar Project Development — Effect of Snow on Solar Energy

Financial and technical risk assessment for solar projects in snow-affected regions, covering production loss modeling and mitigation strategies. Representing Black & Veatch.

2011

U.S. Solar Market Insight Conference, Greentech Media — November 2011Presentation

Defining and Achieving Bankability in the U.S. Market — Top Ten Project Level Considerations

A practitioner’s framework for the ten most critical project-level factors that determine whether a solar project achieves bankability in the U.S. market. Representing Black & Veatch.