On May 12, Solar Simplified CEO Aviv Shalgi co-hosted and moderated a private dinner event for the Cleantech Leaders Roundtable (CTLR) in Chicago. As a prominent private community of climate-tech founders, investors, utility executives and IPPs, CTLR serves as a vital platform for strategic communication, idea sharing, and fellowship during an era of unprecedented industry velocity.
A noticeable theme emerged from the room: attendees were highly aligned on the idea that the energy transition is no longer a future concept. Instead, it has fundamentally shifted into an immediate infrastructure, capital allocation and execution challenge.
Highlighting the evening was a candid and impactful discussion with featured panelists Jigar Shah, clean energy pioneer and host of the Energy Empire and Open Circuit podcasts (and former Director of the Loan Programs Office (LPO) at the U.S. Department of Energy), and Gil C. Quiniones, President and CEO of ComEd. They explored the critical hurdles and opportunities facing the sector today, including grid modernization, the rapid growth in power demand, project financing and deployment bottlenecks. The discussion also focused heavily on the evolving role that utilities will play over the next decade as the industry matures.
These smaller, high-conviction conversations remain incredibly valuable for bringing together diverse perspectives across energy, finance, policy, and technology. With Chicago continuing to build momentum as a major center for the energy and infrastructure ecosystem, Solar Simplified is proud to help drive these essential collaborative efforts forward.