Published: July 2, 2006

Opportunities for solar energy in the Southwest will be discussed at a free public lecture July 6 at the University of Colorado at Boulder featuring the founder of SkyFuel, a developer of large-scale thermal solar power plants.

Arnold Leitner, CEO and president of SkyFuel and a graduate of CU-Boulder, will present "The Sunrise of Solar Power" at 7 p.m. in Duane Physics room G-1B20. A reception will follow in the Gamow Tower's 11th floor commons room.

Leitner will provide a primer on concentrating solar power, and introduce some of his company's proprietary technology. He recently returned from the SolarPACES congress in Spain and will report on developments in the European solar market and implications for the United States.

Leitner was a senior electric energy market consultant at Platts, Boulder. He authored the U.S. Department of Energy study "Fuel From the Sky: Solar Power's Potential for Western Energy Supply."

He has been an adviser to the Department of Energy on solar energy and Southwest electricity markets. His studies and presentations before government agencies and the Western Governors' Association have been credited with bringing about a renewed interest in concentrating solar power in the Western states.

Leitner earned a doctorate in physics from CU-Boulder and an MBA degree from Columbia University in New York.

For more information call (303) 492-6953.