Solar Power International 2008 Preview

Solar Power 2008 claims International status but Solar Power North America 2008 is more accurate.
Free Public Night is Wednesday evening, October 15, 2008, from 5:30 - 8:30PM in the Expo Halls.

Solar Power 2008 Conference and Expo Solar Power International 2008 powers up in San Diego, California USA, from Monday, October 13, 2008, to Thursday, October 16, 2008, at the San Diego Convention Center. The Monday, October 13, 2008, Opening Reception networks from 7:00 to 9:00PM (19:00 – 21:00) overlooking the Bay on the San Diego Convention Center terrace.

This year, event organizers, the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), expect over 15,000 attendees for 60 breakout sessions featuring 200 Speakers and about 425 Exhibitors spread out across the 174,000+ square foot (1.62 Hectare) Expo floor.

Per the Solar Power International 2008 website:

Full Conference Registrations are now Sold Out. A limited number of One Day passes may be available on-site. Expo Only Passes, Workshop Registrations, and Reception Tickets are still available.

Go here for Video Coverage if you cannot attend or wish to review sessions after the event.

Here is the Conference lite Schedule-at-a-Glance and the steroidal seventeen (17) page Detailed Agenda. Most Conference sessions are located on the Upper level of the venue while the Expo is on the Ground level in Halls F, G, and H. Paid Workshops and Commercial Solar Tours on Monday and Friday border the main Conference program.

For the Expo, this single page map shows the entire Expo floor plan albeit with small, hard to read company name text. I noticed GreenVolts has a rather large 40 x 20 foot (74.3 square meters) Stand #539. I suspect GreenVolts will display a complete (or partial) CarouSol unit, a public first. The Expo is open Tuesday through Thursday with Show Hours from 10:00AM to 6:00PM (18:00) daily extended to 8:30PM (20:30) on Wednesday, October 15, 2008, for Public Night.

Public Night is Wednesday evening from 5:30 - 8:30PM at the Expo Halls and:

No registration is necessary! Just show up and come on in!

Given the increasing popularity of Public Night, I suggest arriving early. In addition, the following free Workshops will be offered during Public Night:

6:00 to 7:00PM Solar Photovoltaics (PV) For Home Owners
7:00 to 8:00PM Solar Water Heating for Home Owners
6:30 to 8:00PM Find Your Solar Dream Job

This year, Public Night is an integral part of the San Diego 4th Annual Solar Energy Week organized by the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) beginning with the Family Solar Energy Day on Sunday, October 12, 2008, at Spanish Landing Park from 1:00 to 4:00PM.

I already have a few better offers than the Gaslamp Quarter Solar Power Block Party Tuesday evening, October 14, 2008, from 7:00 to 10:00pm (19:00 – 22:00) but it could be visit worthy.

And this week’s Dilbert comic strips from Thursday and Friday hit the mark regarding venture capital overinvestment in solar and companies like Qimonda jumping into the Photovoltaic Industry.

Solar Investment Tax Credits ride the $700 Billion Bailout Wake

The Bailout comes to the Financial Rescue of Solar.
ITC (Investment Tax Credit) Myopia succeeds, but someone tell the solar stocks!

With all the focus on the Bailout, I must admit thinking the Renewable Energy ITC extensions would have to wait until next year. After the U.S. Senate passed a revised bill laden with tax extensions and other unrelated legislation, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Rescue Sweetened With Tax Incentives” (by Cecilia Kang of the Washington Post).

Per “Federal Solar Tax Credits Extended for 8 Years, US Poised to Become Largest Solar Market in the World” from the SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association), the solar investment tax credit (ITC) provisions will:

• Extend for 8 years the 30-percent tax credit for both residential and commercial solar installations;
• Eliminate the $2,000 monetary cap for residential solar electric installations, creating a true 30-percent tax credit (effective for property placed in service after December 31, 2008);
• Eliminate the prohibition on utilities from benefiting from the credit;
• Allow Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) filers, both businesses and individuals, to take the credit;
• Authorize $800 million for clean energy bonds for renewable energy generating facilities, including solar.

Or review the 451 page H.R. 1424 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 for yourself; DIVISION B—ENERGY IMPROVEMENT AND EXTENSION ACT OF 2008 volumes across pages 113 to 261.

While the elimination of the $2000 cap on residential photovoltaic installations is a fantastic boost for distributed generation, wealthier families with higher annual electricity consumption will be the first to benefit. As a solar integrator pointed out to me today, the residential market will be frozen in the United States until the residential Solar ITC becomes effective January 1, 2009.

The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) was also quick on the press release with the “SEPA Statement on Historic 8-Year Solar Tax Credit Extension”. Hailing “the removal of a prohibition that previously prevented electric utilities from taking advantage of the credit”, this significant change to the Solar ITC has received little scrutiny. Are monopolistic Electric Utilities poised to become change agents to stave off global warming by investing in large scale renewable energy, solar, and photovoltaic power plants? Will they play fair with independent renewable energy power producers connecting to their grids? Why were no concessions sought from Utilities? How about Utilities agreeing to new photovoltaic residential metering rules that pay for excess electricity generation (please see AB 1920: California bill goes beyond Net Metering) in exchange for receiving the benefit of the ITC?

I am hoping the passage of the Solar ITC will place a natural limit on discussions about ITC politics at Solar Power International 2008 next week in San Diego, California USA. Wishful thinking? As last year, I believe the US and worldwide economy should be the prime topic of conversation. The credit crunch may slow down utility renewable energy investments and have already impacted production expansions in the photovoltaic industry. On the residential front, will families invest in solar electric power even when they have opted not to purchase new cars?

Last year at Solar Power 2007, I wrote about the R-Word (Solar Power 2007: Discussion Panels Aplenty – Part 3). Will the D-Word dominate discussions this year trumping the new ITC? And now that oil has corrected, the Recession Risk and Solar Stocks, Oil, and Gold portions of my Photovoltaics: 2007 Post Review and 2008 Trends to Watch – Part 2 post are panning out.

1st Solar Symposium: Feed-in Tariff for California First

Focus on Feed-in Tariffs (FiT) at the state level for solar.

[San Francisco, California USA]

On the eve of Intersolar North America 2008, Monday, July 14, 2008, I managed to attend the 1^st Solar Symposium sponsored by the German American Chamber of Commerce (GACC), California Branch. Although the 1st GACC "Solar Symposium" Fully Booked - International Audience Expected, I was able to jump from the wait list to an attendee despite my over aggressive accreditation tactics.

Before lunch, SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association) President Rhone Resch presented “The US Prior to the 2008 Presidential Elections - Status and Perspectives of Solar Promotion on a Federal Level”. The ITC (Investment Tax Credit) myopia continues as HR 6049 is supposed to be coming up for another vote in the Senate soon. There was no mention of the first national Feed-in Tariff bill, HR 6401 Renewable Energy Jobs and Security Act, introduced by U.S. Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA). Please see PVSC 33 Opens and Feed-in Tariffs: Solar FiT for the USA for related posts.

In the afternoon, the Panel Discussion, "International Perspectives: What are the Most Promising Incentives to Develop the US Solar Market", tackled opposing views on the status quo of rebates and ITCs versus the market proven German Feed-in Tariff model. The panel was moderated by:

• V. John White, Executive Director / CEERT, CENTER FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGIES

and included:

• Adam Browning, Executive Director / The Vote Solar Initiative
• Professor Eicke Weber, Director / Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE)
• John L. Geesman, Former Commissioner / California Energy Commission
• Rhone Resch, President / SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association)
• Gerhard Stryi-Hipp, CEO / German Solar Industries Association
• Helmut Gehle, Sales Director, Solar Technologies / Schuco USA LP

Adam Browning kicked off the discussion with his presentation, "US Solar Market - Policy Drivers". In his opening, Mr. Browning said:

When it comes to Energy policy much of it is lead at the state level rather than at the Federal level. Most of the most critical electricity related rules and regulations are set at a state level.

This observation was echoed by many panelists who advocated activity at the state level over complex and protracted energy policy legislation at the Federal level.

However, a misleading comparison of Rebate programs with net metering versus the Feed-in Tariff model is shown in the slide above titled “Avoided Utility Purchases with Marginal Incentives vs. Feed-in Tariffs”.

Adam Browning said:

…From a policy maker’s perspective we are looking at what is the amount of public funds, the above market cost, that they are going to need to have to provide to a program in order to make that program work, give a financially interesting proposition to people who want to go solar.

Under this particular model, most of the value comes from avoided utility purchases and you give an incentive that is just the marginal difference to get to an economically interesting proposition.

Under a Feed-in Tariff, you must provide the full value of that electricity and from the policy maker’s perspective that often looks like a much larger amount which makes it harder to do.

This perpetuates Adam Browning’s flawed Feed-in Tariff versus Marginal Incentive article refuted by Michael Hoexter in Feed-in Tariffs: Getting off the Renewables Roller Coaster, both found at RenewableEnergyWorld.com.

V. John White said:

Despite all the noise from California, if I may be blunt, the truth of the matter is 95% of all renewable megawatts in this state were built in that period (1980’s). In the entire 15 years since then, most recently since the 2002 passage of the Renewable Portfolio Standard, the 20% standard by 2017 which has since now been advanced to 2010. We are not much closer to that goal than where we started. We have In fact lost ground from about 12% to 11%.

Professor Eicke Weber said:

I think our goal should be exactly like you (John White) said; the fastest possible introduction of the largest possible quantity of renewable energy.

And now let me again make my pledge why the Feed-in tariff works, the German model. The reason is it is not based on people who like PV and who are happy to get a tax credit to get a lower priced PV; this is nice, and nobody would be against it. But the key issue is to provide an interesting investment proposal, a business plan, so that anybody can sit down and say my roof has this size I can produce 5kW (kilowatt) of PV. It means at the end of the day when I have paid down the system I get each month a paycheck.

Net metering is wrong. Net metering is the wrong way. Net metering means the best you can achieve is bringing your utility bill to zero. And this is just against what we all try to do on the energy savings side.

Energy efficiency and conservation efforts do not scale with net metering as noted in my AB 1920: California bill goes beyond Net Metering post.

John Geesman said:

As a consequence, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch in terms of normal governmental authority to see the logic of Feed-in Tariffs. Now there are those that will differ. They will say that’s delegating to the states an awful lot of authority. I’m here to tell you in my adult lifetime, national energy policy as much as I have known about it, has almost consistently been headed in the wrong direction. And I put a lot more comfort in seeing those decisions made by the states.

Although I’m not sure when he arrived, John Garamendi, Lieutenant Governor of California, was intensely interested in the afternoon panel discussion and closed the symposium with a speech waxing fluent about Feed-in Tariffs. Lieutenant (Lt.) Governor Garamendi said:

I like what Germany has done with its Feed-in Tariffs; they apparently worked. We could try all kinds of models, but it seems to me we start with a model that works.

He encouraged the panelists to reach a consensus and work to get a FiT policy in place for California. The Lt. Governor Garamendi also observed California policies at the city, county, and state levels need to be integrated and aligned to achieve the goal of transitioning from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy.

Last year when I asked the Lt. Governor about Feed-in Tariffs for renewable energy at the 2007 CCTO Competition (please see California Clean Tech Open 2007 Kick-off Event Wrap up), they were not at forefront of his considerations. 1st “Solar Symposium” of the German American Chamber of Commerce an Immediate Success has additional quotes and the GACC’s perspective.

Although they claimed to have FiT policy efforts, CALSEIA (California Solar Energy Industries Association) did not respond to my requests for details about their proposed approach to a California Feed-in Tariff for solar.

California has an immaculate convergence of great solar resources, sustainability and environmental awareness, renewable business ventures, and progressive political support to Go Big Solar driven by a German style Feed-in Tariff. Is a foolish name change to Freedom Tariff or Energy Independence Tariff needed before we can adopt sound renewable energy policy as our own?

PVSC 33 Opens

[San Diego, California USA]

First Solar dominates the Keynotes.

The 33rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 33) opened on Monday, May 12, 2008, with two Keynote Sessions. Although I arrived on time for once, the conference was opened earlier than the planned 8:30AM start by Conference Chair, Dr. Timothy J Coutts.

SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association) President Rhone Resch’s forty minute address, The US Solar Revolution, highlighted Keynote Session I. As usual, the ITC or Investment Tax Credit extensions were the focus policies. The SEIA is seeking:

• 8 year, 30%, solar ITC extension for business
• 6 year, 30%, solar ITC extension for residential (eliminate the $2000 cap)
• AMT (Alternative minimum Tax) relief regarding the ITC
• Elimination of the public utility exception to the ITC

With these polices in place, the SEIA and PVNews project US Solar market demand growth to 1590MW by 2010.

Mr. Resch also announced a new conference called PV America 2009. Set to debut in Philadelphia around June 2009, this new conference will be presented in partnership with the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) to “put solar front and center” encompassing research and development, market development, finance, and policy in emerging US regional markets. Any profits from PV America will be reinvested to benefit the advancement of photovoltaics.

Echoing sentiments like vote the bums (in the US Congress) out in the 2008 Election if they don’t support solar policies, Mr. Resch said:

It’s Not a Revolution Unless Blood is Spilled.

As is their habit, First Solar’s messaging dominated Keynote Session 2 even though Dr. Swanson’s keynote on The SunPower Story was both informative and entertaining.

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) VP of Technology Dave Eaglesham’s presentation, Thin Film Technology: pathway to Grid Parity, detailed the company’s compelling plans to increase production to 1GWp (GigaWatt-peak) by 2009 while increasing module efficiency to 12 maybe 13% (percent) and lowering manufacturing costs to $0.70 per Watt by 2012!

First Solar continues to set the benchmark for every established and start up PV company in the world.

One question regarding Tellurium supply was dodged by Mr. Eaglesham. First Solar appears to be concerned “speculators” will drive up Tellurium prices before their sourcing arrangements are finalized. Given their market capitalization, perhaps First Solar should just take a minority stake in or acquire a mining company with significant Tellurium reserves?

The First Solar Media team says this presentation will not be posted to the First Solar website even though they are a high profile, public company. Those interested are directed to purchase a Conference Proceedings CD or visit the IEEE Xplore library.

SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) President and Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Dr. Richard Swanson had the PVSC 33 favorite keynote, The SunPower Story: The Path from R&D Concentrator Cells to a High Volume PV Panel and System Manufacturer. The story began with Thermophotovoltaics (TPV) research in SunPower’s life B.C. (Before Cypress). Optimizations for TPV led to the innovations integrated into the A300 back contact silicon solar cell.

Dr. Swanson finished his presentation with the announcement of the Gen 3 silicon solar cell with 23.4% efficiency.

What are my quick impressions of PVSC 33 so far?

• Concentrators, multijunction solar cells, and thin films have almost as much session emphasis as silicon in the technical program.
• I’ve been spoiled by EU PVSEC. The coffee urns were empty when I arrived from Keynote Session I after waiting to ask Mr. Resch a few questions. There are zero snacks at the coffee breaks.
• Of course, the Special Invited sessions from 8:00 to 9:30AM are of particular interest. I’ve had trouble with 8:00AM start times for a number of years now after university.
• Poster sessions do not conflict with Oral presentations so there is time allocated to meet and discuss the topics with the researcher(s).
• The PV Velocity Forum is a welcome addition to the conference this year and seeks to bring "investors and policy-makers face-to-face with these solar industry leaders to explore methods for driving superior emerging technologies through production and into the market."

I’ve managed OK with crutches at the conference, but I was so tired yesterday afternoon I had to switch to the wheelchair before the poster session. I decided to take a break today and rest up for the final two days of PVSC 33.

And I echo the congrats to Greentech Media regarding:

GREENTECH MEDIA RAISES $2.75M SERIES B CAPITAL AS MARKET FOR GREEN TECHNOLOGIES ACCELERATES

Feed-in Tariffs: Solar FiT for the USA

End the ITC (Investment Tax Credit) Myopia and expand the United States Solar Policy agenda.

With the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC 2008, Agenda) coming up this week, it seemed appropriate to jump into the US solar policy and incentive debate.

Repeated lobbying efforts by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the US national trade association for the solar industry, have failed to pass an extension to the solar Investment Tax Credit in last year’s Energy Independence and Security Act and the recent Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. Future SEIA efforts continue to focus on the myopic pursuit of the elusive ITC extensions. Please see Solar Sharpens Weapons for Incentive Battle and Solar Industry's Five-Step Plan for background information.

Per Renewable tax credits likely to run out, leaving investment at home hanging by Chris Morrison at VentureBeat, the inside scoop is the ITC extension will not happen until the next US Presidential administration in 2009.

Given all this focus, is the ITC the best method to promote and incentivize the adoption of solar energy and photovoltaics in the United States? In fact, the answer to this question is a resounding No.

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA), the European equivalent of the SEIA, has documented Winning Policies for Solar Electricity gleaned from Germany’s photovoltaic and renewable energy success story driven by their groundbreaking Renewable Energies Sources Act 2000 and EEG 2004 (Erneuerbare Energie Gesetz 2000, EEG 2004).

The EEG guarantees the rate paid for photovoltaic solar electricity generated and fed into the grid for a period of twenty years from the time of installation and interconnection. Rate payers (business and residential electricity customers) fund this program through increased electricity costs per kiloWatt-hour (kW-h). This is not tax money collected and dispersed by the national or state governments but handled under a legal framework by the utilities and grid operators as shown in how the feed-in tariff works in practice. As first exposed in Feed-in Tariffs: Getting off the Renewables Roller Coaster by Michael Hoexter with Californians for a Feed-in Tariff Working Group, Adam Browning of Vote Solar has made erroneous claims about the cost of the EEG in Feed-in Tariff versus Marginal Incentive, both found at RenewableEnergyWorld.com. Per the Solar Generation IV – 2007 report developed by EPIA and Greenpeace:

In Germany, the monthly extra costs per consumer due to the premium tariff for solar electricity are currently €0.20. The result is also that every electricity consumer contributes to the restructuring of the national electricity supply network, away from a fossil-based one, and towards a sustainable and independent structure.

This EPIA press release, Feed-in tariffs make solar photovoltaic electricity more and more competitive, highlights the key provisions of successful Feed-in Tariffs:

• Guarantees the price of PV solar electricity without depending on the State budget. It is indirectly paid by all electricity customers and enables every consumer to promote the development of renewable energies through its monthly electricity bill.
• Secures financing for PV system; a feed-in tariff established by law will serve as a guarantee for individuals willing to purchase a PV system.
• Encourages cost reduction; the constant reduction of the feed-in tariff for new systems connected to the grid will put pressure on the PV-industry to bring down costs.
• Forces the industry to significantly improve performance; the return on investment depends on the performance of the system and customers will opt for systems with highest return.

Germany’s success with the Feed-in Tariff model for photovoltaics and renewable energy has encouraged Spain, Italy, Greece, and France to adopt similar Feed-in Tariff laws to promote the adoption of solar generated electricity. After taking steps to improve and streamline grid access (Access to the grid: A precondition for the solar photovoltaic market to take-off), Spain emerged as the fastest growing market for photovoltaics in 2007.

A quick survey of the SEIA and the Vote Solar Initiative, Solar Nation, and the Solar Alliance activist websites finds nary a mention of Feed-in Tariffs. Perhaps they never read this San Francisco Chronicle OPEN FORUM article, The future is just overhead, by Professor Eicke R. Weber, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE)?

Solar Power 2007: It’s all about YOU!

Overwhelming Success driven by the participation of Solar Industry Professionals, Stakeholders, and just regular Folks

The Solar Power 2007 Conference and Expo opened yesterday in Long Beach, California, to record registrations from solar industry professionals, investors, utility managers, builders, policymakers, would be solar entrepreneurs, and citizens. Registration lines sprawled the length of the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center until early afternoon.

As of today, there were about 9300 registrations including 500 new Expo Only registrations. About 3000 solar curious local residents packed the Expo Halls for the free Public Night to learn about solar technologies, going solar, and solar career opportunities.

The big story from the first day of Solar Power 2007 wasn’t a product or project announcement, a keynote address, or a celebrity speaker like Ted Turner. The cumulative contribution of individual attendees and local residents to the record attendance and interest in everything solar was the real “hot” story.

SEIA President Rhone Resch’s keynote hit on three early Conference themes. His 2007 Year in Review citied the First new CSP Plant Online and 2500MW under contract as the first bullet point. Photovoltaics was a mere second. Next, the status of the Energy Bill with the ITC (Investment Tax Credit) extensions was reviewed. And last, the Action Alert “We need YOU!” was issued to the Plenary audience to support the ongoing Energy Bill negotiations in the US Congress.

Ted Turner didn’t disappoint a receptive Opening Plenary session with quotable sound bites. See Turner: 'Drop Solar Panels, Not Bombs' by Jennifer Kho at Greentech Media for Mr. Turner’s insights and comments.

While Ted charmed the crowd, the earlier keynote by Ray Lane, Managing Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), highlighted the keynotes and underscored a shift from Solar Power 2006. Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) and KPCB’s recent investment in Ausra, Inc. have stolen the utility scale spotlight from High Concentration PhotoVoltaics (HCPV) this year.

Sorry for this late initial post. I was sidetracked by an exceptional party last night at the Sky Room Bar hosted by MMA Renewable Ventures and the Antenna Group.

Solar Power 2007 Preview

Long Beach hosts America's largest Solar Energy event next week

The Solar Power 2007 Conference and Expo kicks off next week in Long Beach, California, from September 24 to 27, 2007, at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, a Solar Powered Venue. Created in 2004 via a partnership between the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), this year’s business to business Solar Power Conference and Expo features over 200 exhibitors, 125 speakers, and expects a record 10,000 attendees.

While there are Training and Workshops over the weekend, Solar Power 2007 activities begin to ramp Monday morning, September 24, 2007, with more workshops and a sold out Local Solar Installations Tour followed by the Opening Reception. The Conference and Expo run from Tuesday through Thursday afternoon. The Opening Plenary Session features keynotes delivered by Ted Turner, Turner Enterprises, and Ray Lane, Managing Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Here are the one page Solar Power 2007 Schedule-at-a-Glance and the complete Detailed Agenda.

This year’s Agenda indulges the Solar side with two sessions on Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) and a session on Solar Hot Water Technology, but there are plenty of Solar Electric or Photovoltaic sessions. Vinod Khosla is not a scheduled speaker at this year’s event though he must be pleased with the CSP exposure.

Where in the world is Jesse Pichel you may ask? Jesse Pichel, Sr. Research Analyst, PiperJaffray, will present as part of the panel in the Investing in Solar Stocks: What You Need to Know session on Wednesday, September 26, 2007, from 2:00PM - 3:30PM in Room 202 at the Long Beach Convention Center.

Here is the Expo Exhibitor List and the Expo Hall floor plans:

Long Beach Convention Center Hall B
Hyatt Regency Beacon and Regency Ballrooms

but the Expo is not as daunting at this event – yet.

The Expo Halls are open to the public for free Tuesday evening, September 25, 2007, from 5:30PM to 8:30PM without preregistration, and three free seminars will be also held for the public:

Solar Electricity 101
How to Find a Qualified Solar Installer
How to Find Your Dream Job in Solar

A list of the participating companies is also available for review.

Interested in attending? You can still register by Sunday, September 23, 2007, and save $100 on your conference registration (see Registration Information).

If you cannot attend, a webcast of keynote speeches and interviews from the show floor of Solar Power 2007 is available courtesy of sponsor Fat Spaniel Technologies Inc. Last year’s Solar Power 2006 keynote speakers and industry interviews can still be viewed in this Webcast Archive.

I’ll see you at V2O - The Ten Million Dollar Nightclub (81 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA USA) for the Opening Reception on Monday, September 24, 2007, from 7:00PM to 9:00PM. Let’s do some serious Solar Power networking.

Photovoltaics at SEMICON West 2007

Photovoltaics outshine the semi biz

Although SEMICON West 2007 wound down on July 20, 2007, I am just getting to pointing out presentations and providing multimedia about the programs, events, and exhibition. Here is the official SEMICON West 2007 Post-Show Report.

When I was looking for presentations from the keynotes and TechXPOTs from SEMICON West to be placed online based on a tip from an organizer, I stumbled upon this post Nano, MEMS and Energy Presentations Available on semiconwest.org! on the lublog.

Instead of linking to the abstracts, the titles now link to the presentations. There is great information ranging from SunPower Public Relations type hype to thin film manufacturing equipment and solar grade silicon. This is the next best thing to attending SEMICON West 2007 and seeing all the presentations. I noticed official videos recorded at each session, but I have not seen any of these surface yet.

Keynotes:
How Silicon Valley is Helping to Solve the Energy Dependence Problem
T.J. Rodgers, Chairman, SunPower Corporation

Solar Energy: The Next Great Growth Opportunity for the Semiconductor Industry
Rhone Resch, President, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

TechXPOT - Emerging Technologies - Nanoelectronic and Nanoenergy Applications:
Advances in Flexible Thin-Film Solar Cells
David Pearce, President and CEO, Miasolé

TechXPOT - Emerging Technologies - Renewable Energy: Solar and Fuel Cells:
Issues of Going to Gigawatt-scale Solar Manufacturing
Charlie Gay, VP and general manager, Solar Business Group, Applied Materials

Thin Film Silicon- Key to Photovoltaics
Hans Brändle, Head of Oerlikon Balzers Coating, executive VP Oerlikon

I apologize for not giving Oerlikon equal time. I misjudged my video recording capacity, and I was struggling to free space for photos throughout the TechXPOT. Dr. Brändle was very gracious and acknowledged Charlie Gay’s opening presentation. Even though Oerlikon sponsored this TechXPOT, the moderator made a mistake in allowing too many questions for Applied Materials to the detriment of Oerlikon and the following presenters.

Alternative Silicon Materials for Solar
Gaetan Borgers, Director Dow Corning Solar Solutions

Manufacturing High Efficiency Solar Cells
Nasreen Chopra, Director of Equipment R&D, SunPower Corporation

I am starting to see a pattern in SunPower presentations. Over half of this time slot was another SunPower hype flashback. No Public Relations minders were there to prevent Dr. Chopra from making a political correctness faux pas concerning the professionalism and quality of small specialty solar equipment manufacturers located in remote European alpine locations. Dr. Chopra, have you heard about globalization? You do realize your cells and modules are manufactured in a remote location in the Philippines and might travel down congested and infrastructure challenged highways to Manila for shipment all over the world?

Of course, you can expect further commentary on the various presentations and the exhibition to follow. I am under pressure to post or perish today.

If you haven’t seen them, I suggest checking out these posts over at the Cleantech Blog by Neal Dikeman:
When it Comes to Solar - Lest We Forget
Rising Solar Prices - Where is the Shakeout?
Is IBM Going Solar?

SEMICON West 2007 Preview

Photovoltaics in the Emerging Technology Spotlight

SEMICON West 2007 Program and Events get underway for five days starting Monday, July 16, 2007, and the Exhibition runs for three days beginning Tuesday, July 17, 2007, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California, USA.

Things solar kickoff on Tuesday, July 17, 2007, from 3:00pm to 5:00pm in the West Hall, Level 2, with the TechXPOT - Emerging Technologies - Nanoelectronic and Nanoenergy Applications featuring David Pearce, President and CEO, Miasolé, with Advances in Flexible Thin-Film Solar Cells. Nanotechnologists may also find this TechXPOT - Emerging Technologies - Nanomaterials and Tools Innovations of interest.

Day Two Keynotes are monopolized by solar with T.J. Rodgers, Chairman, SunPower Corporation, explaining How Silicon Valley is Helping to Solve the Energy Dependence Problem. Rhone Resch, President, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), follows with Solar Energy: The Next Great Growth Opportunity for the Semiconductor Industry. Both keynotes are scheduled from 1:30pm to 3:00pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2007, at Center Stage/West Hall, Level 2.

Then Thursday, July 19, 2007, the TechXPOT - Emerging Technologies - Renewable Energy: Solar and Fuel Cells has twenty (20) minute sessions discussing material and manufacturing innovations from 10:30am to 1:00pm at West Hall, Level 2. Charlie Gay, VP and general manager, Solar Business Group, Applied Materials, leads off with Issues of Going to Gigawatt-scale Solar Manufacturing, followed by competitive counterpart Hans Brändle, Head of Oerlikon Balzers Coating, executive VP Oerlikon, presenting Thin Film Silicon- Key to Photovoltaics. Gaetan Borgers, Director Dow Corning Solar Solutions, bats third, and Nasreen Chopra, Director of Equipment R&D, SunPower Corporation, closes the solar portion of the session by 11:50am.

Solar and Photovoltaic Exhibitors are spread about the exhibition halls with concentrations in the South, North, and West Halls. An online exhibitor search tool can help with crafting your top company list.

If you still want to attend SEMICON West 2007, you can register here. This could be the start of a long lasting Renewable Energy and SEMICON West relationship.