Keynote presentation by Avery Shenfeld, Chief Economist

VANCOUVER, Jan. 15 /CNW/ - CIBC (CM: TSX; NYSE) - North America's leading clean energy companies will be in Vancouver on January 20, 2010 to share their strategies and outlook on market opportunities with investors at CIBC's 3rd Annual Clean Energy Investor Conference.

"It is clear that our future energy needs in North America will be met with an increasing number of clean and renewable projects and technologies," says David Williams, the head of the power and utilities team in CIBC's wholesale banking group. "The issue is no longer whether it will happen but has shifted to identifying the best technologies and developing an appropriate and sustainable plan to roll out these technologies with the existing or new infrastructure.

"For investors, the question is what companies will be building this future and when will they come to market. With many of the leading firms on the continent at our conference, investors will have an opportunity to explore these companies' capabilities and determine who is going to lead us into the future."

The conference will feature panel sessions on six clean energy sectors: hydroelectric, alternative fuels, geothermal, bioenergy, solar and wind. It will also feature a keynote address on the global and Canadian economies by Avery Shenfeld, Chief Economist at CIBC.

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    Scheduled presentations:
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    Hydroelectric  Alternative   Geothermal     Bioenergy     Solar / Wind
    Panel          Fuels Panel   Panel          Panel         Panel
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    - Algonquin   - Electrovaya  - Magma        - Capital     - Day4 Energy
      Power &     - Fuel           Energy         Power       - NaiKun Wind
      Utilities     Systems      - Ormat        - Nexterra      Energy
    - AltaGas       Solutions      Technologies   Energy      - Northland
      Income      - Westport     - Ram Power    - Pacific       Power Income
      Trust         Innovations  - U.S.           BioEnergy     Fund
    - Plutonic    - ZENN Motor     Geothermal   - Pristine    - Western Wind
      Power                                       Power         Energy
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Media Attendance:

The CIBC 2010 Clean Energy Investor Conference is by invitation only. Media wishing to attend are required to register in advance by contacting Erin Truax at 416-304-5568 or erin.truax@cibc.com. Interview requests for the presenters should also be directed to the media contact below.

Media and the public will also be able to listen to the presentations via audio cast. More information on the conference, including a link to the audio cast (available on the day of the conference), a list of presenting companies and an agenda, can be found at http://conferences.cibcwm.com/CLEANENERGY2010/ (password: clean10).

Note: The list of presenting companies is subject to change.

CIBC's wholesale banking business provides a range of integrated credit and capital markets products, investment banking, and merchant banking to clients in key financial markets in North America and around the world. We provide innovative capital solutions and advisory expertise across a wide range of industries as well as top-ranked research for our corporate, government and institutional clients.