Our conference will not only look at how renewable energy technologies can address the environmental and energy crisis from an international perspective but also what it will take to integrate renewables into the world’s energy infrastructure on a very large scale. To accomplish this energy transition, we not only need to power our electric grids with renewable energy, but we also need to empower people to play active roles in our energy transition, especially in developing nations. Plenary speakers and special forum presentations will focus on these critical topics.