Intersolar North America: Exhibition Photos

Exhibition and Press Conference Update

The Intersolar North America 2008 Exhibition opened yesterday, Tuesday, July 16, 2008, at a prompt 10:00AM. In lieu of a delayed post about the German American Chamber of Commerce sponsored 1st Solar Symposium (updated with select presentations), I opted to share the experience of visiting the Intersolar Exhibition with two Picasa slideshows.

Intersolar North America expects about 13,000 registered attendees for the inaugural tradeshow. These attendees consist of Intersolar only and SEMICON West registrants expressing an interest in Intersolar. The Exhibition features 210 exhibitors and is a manageable size this first year. A few companies missing from the Exhibition included: Evergreen Solar, First Solar, Q-Cells, Schott Solar, and PHOTON International (Solar Verlag).

Strange but true…
The Panasonic stand is hawking the sale of their Plasma Display Laboratory in Highland, New York USA. I can only presume they feel the facility can be retrofit for thin film solar production with minimal effort. The 93000 square foot building has 34330 square feet of Class 100 Clean Room Space and resides on a 6.3 acre site.

I have thus far commuted on the train (Caltrain) to San Francisco each day for Intersolar. Things were going like clockwork until this morning when my express train turned into a local because of system delays. When I was reviewing my commute options, I stumbled on this news, BART goes solar, saving a projected $3.4 million over 20 years. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is a subway or light rail system serving the San Francisco Bay area. SunEdison, LLC was awarded the $3.8 million contract to install a solar panel canopy at one of BART’s Orinda Station parking lots.

Intersolar North America / SEMICON West 2008 Preview

July 14 - 17, 2008, in San Francisco, California USA

While Intersolar North America 2008 (http://www.intersolar.us) has its official kickoff on Tuesday, July 15, 2008, the Conference Program begins on Monday, July 14, 2008, per Intersolar North America Details Conference Sessions and Accompanying Programs. Here is the Conference Program Overview.

On Monday, Greentech Media is hosting an all day seminar, Concentrating Solar Technologies and Markets, and the German American Chamber of Commerce is initiating the 1st Solar Symposium (Program).

The Intersolar North America (NA) Exhibition runs from Tuesday through Thursday, July 15 – 17, 2008, located at Moscone Center - West Hall, Level 3. I have not found a detailed exhibitor map, but an online Exhibitor and Product Search tool is available to screen the 210 registered exhibitors. If you have not yet registered, the exhibition only registration fee has increased to $100 at this point.

In the Innovation Exchange Program, exhibitors deliver 30 minute presentations about their new developments, products, or services at Moscone West Hall, Level 3, Alcove 4, per the linked schedules below:

Tuesday, June 15
Wednesday, June 16
Thursday, June 17

During Intersolar NA, additional conference tracks include:

Photovoltaic (A1, A2, A3, A4)
Solar Thermal (B1, B2, B3, B4)
North American Photovoltaic Advanced Manufacturing Technology Conference (Thin Film / Equipment, Bulk Silicon)
Solar Gigawatts
Solar Finance
Solar Materials, Equipment & Technology Conference (SMET) (Thursday)
Building Integrated Technologies and Market Technology Outlook
Basic and Advanced Photovoltaic Workshops
Basic and Advanced Solar Thermal Workshops

Don’t forget about SEMICON West
In Photovoltaic at SEMICON West 2008, SEMICON West 2008 has a webpage to the shared North American Photovoltaic Advanced Manufacturing Technology Conference program. Also, there is a list of over 250 Photovoltaic Exhibitors at SEMICON West 2008.

The SEMI Theater Presents: series located at Moscone West Hall, Level 2, Booth 8241, offers FREE presentations to attendees of SEMICON West (or Intersolar NA I assume). I noticed the following presentations of photovoltaic interest:

Tuesday, July, 15
11:30am – 12:00pm
Refurbishing a Semiconductor Fab into a Solar Cell Production Facility
Dr. Gerhard Tegtmeyer, Dockweiler

1:00pm - 1:30pm
Solar Boom or Solar Hype?
Jim Hines, Gartner

Wednesday, July 16
12:30pm – 1:00pm
PV Group: An Overview of Photovoltaic Activities at SEMI
Bettina Weiss, SEMI

And I might find a way to Meet the Bloggers from Indium Corporation at SEMICON West, Moscone West Hall, Level 1, Booth 7834, from 2:00-3:00pm on Tuesday, July 15, 2008. There are so many conference programs, when does a person have time to visit the exhibition?

Photovoltaic Conference and Exhibition Preview 2008 – Part 2

Incremental updates to photovoltaic conferences and events in 2008

This update supplements the original post, Photovoltaic Conference and Exhibition Preview 2008.

Intersolar 2008
June 12-14, 2008 (PV Industry Forum 2008 June 10-11, 2008)
Munich (München), Germany

The detailed two day program for the PV Industry Forum is now available. In addition, Solar Promotion has added the 1st Solar Thermal Industry Forum (http://www.solarthermalindustry.de) on June 11, 2008, although the afternoon program is still being flushed out.

SEMICON West 2008 / Intersolar North America 2008
July 15-17, 2008 Exhibition
San Francisco, California USA

Intersolar North America Draws International Participation cites the success of the exhibition in attracting international exhibitors. In order to free up additional exhibition space, the comprehensive conference program has been moved to the InterContinental Hotel adjacent to the Moscone West Convention Center. Besides the “very special symposium session”, "Solar Gigawatts for Europe – Status Perspectives European Solar Markets and Industries", the conference program includes the following topic areas:

PV Technology
Solar Thermal Technology
Building Integrated Technologies

External partners will also cover additional topic areas. The conference program is being finalized by Solar Promotion and should be rolled out on the Intersolar North America 2008 website in early May.

21st NREL Industry Growth Forum
October 21-23, 2008
Denver, Colorado USA

Per the NREL Public Affairs team, the dates for the 21st NREL Industry Growth Forum have been set for October 21-23, 2008, at the Renaissance Hotel in Denver. Further information and details will be posted to the www.cleanenergyforum.com website in the near future.

9. Forum Solarpraxis
November 20-21, 2008
Berlin, Germany

The dates have also been set for the 9^th Forum Solarpraxis (Deutsch), and this year it is one week before the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the United States. Here is the announcement (Deutsch).

I plan to attend the 33rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 33) from May 11-16, 2008, in San Diego, California USA, even though I will be hobbling or wheeling to get around.

Photovoltaic Conference and Exhibition Preview 2008

Significant photovoltaic conferences and events in 2008

In chronological order, here are the conferences I am interested in covering or following in 2008. The schedule is packed with three new conferences and events versus last year, and my focus remains technical conferences and business to business trade shows, not regional marketing or sales events. Location alignment results in two events each for San Francisco, San Diego, and Munich.

Concentrated Solar Power USA
January 28-29, 2008
San Francisco, California USA

As I mentioned in Photovoltaics: 2007 Post Review and 2008 Trends to Watch – Part 2, Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) is the hottest solar power segment. Second in a series, the Event Overview is titled:

How to build - and run - a profitable Concentrated Solar Power plant
Everything you need to know to turn your CSP project into reality

This looks like the perfect event to smarten up on CSP and network with Who's Attending.

Clean Technology & Renewables Conference
February 20, 2008
New York City, New York USA

This Piper Jaffray & Co. (NYSE:PJC) invitation only event caught my attention last year with Solaria spills low concentration photovoltaic technology at Symposium. With Sr. Research Analyst Jesse Pichel and team doing great Photovoltaic (PV) Industry research, this is one of the best investor conferences to attend =if= you can wrangle an invite.

Concentrated Photovoltaic Summit ‘08
April 1-2, 2008
Madrid, Spain

This Concentrator PhotoVoltaics (CPV) summit, “CPV goes commercial – how to build, maintain and run a profitable CPV plant”, has an impressive speaker list and is realized by First Conferences Ltd. who are also the folks behind the above mentioned Concentrated Solar Power USA. However, the timing conflicts with…

Photovoltaic Technology Show 2008 Europe
April 2-4, 2008 (Conferences April 1-4, 2008)
Munich (München), Germany

While the Photovoltaic Technology Show is a photovoltaic production equipment exhibition, this show is a nexus for four distinct PHOTON EXPO conferences held during the first four (4) days of April:

6^th Solar Silicon Conference - April 1, 2008
3^rd PV Production Equipment Conference - April 2, 2008
3^rd PV Investors Conference - April 3, 2008
2^nd PV Glass Conference - April 4, 2008

The sister Photovoltaic Technology Show 2008 Asia event is being held this week on January 16-18, 2008, in Shenzhen, China, with the same four (4) day conference schedule from January 15-18, 2008, including the debut of the PV Glass Conference. PHOTON claims the 5^th Solar Silicon Conference in Shenzhen will cover “Chinese and Eastern European projects” while Munich’s 6^th Solar Silicon Conference will focus on established industry leaders.

33rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC 33)
May 11-16, 2008
San Diego, California USA

This conference could create some US based competition for the 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC).

Intersolar 2008
June 12-14, 2008 (PV Industry Forum 2008 June 10-11, 2008)
Munich (München), Germany

In order to expand, this year Intersolar moves from Freiburg im Breisgau to the New Munich Trade Fair Centre. Per Quantum Leap for Intersolar Trade Fair, this big trade fair goes huge with an over 80% increase in exhibition area. The Solar Promotion sponsored PV Industry Forum expands to cover the two days before Intersolar 2008 opens.

SEMICON West 2008 / Intersolar North America 2008
July 15-17, 2008 Exhibition
San Francisco, California USA

Please see Intersolar North America 2008 for my write up on this new event. The SEMICON West conference program and events run from July 14-18, 2008.

23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition
September 1-5, 2008
Valencia, Spain

The 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition continues as my must cover conference selection for 2008. With the comprehensive conference program, EPIA’s 5th European PV Industry Forum, and the expanded trade exhibition, this is the best annual technical and business to business solar conference and exhibition.

Solar Power 2008
October 13-16, 2008
San Diego, California USA

The Solar Power Conference and Expo has established itself as the premiere US solar business to business event attracting well over 10,000 visitors in 2007. Intersolar North America 2008 will look to mount a challenge to this position.

21st NREL Industry Growth Forum
Fall 2008 (specific date not announced)
USA (location not announced)

A great two day conference about technologies the latest solar startups are developing for commercialization and pitching to venture capitalists and investors.There was dearth of NREL Forum press coverage in 2007 despite the rising interest in renewable energy technologies. Although I did not attend, I managed to post Wakonda Technologies wins at the 20th NREL Industry Growth Forum. NREL's 20th Industry Growth Forum Presentations are available here.

9. Forum Solarpraxis
November 2008
Berlin, Germany

I had a productive 8. Forum Solarpraxis leading to the post, Solarvalue AG Analyst Conference at the 8. Forum Solarpraxis, and the impromptu site visit In Search of Nanosolar GmbH.

Honorable mention:
PV TECH MILANO 2008
November 25-28, 2008
Milan, Italy

The 5th INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION ON THE PHOTOVOLTAIC INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGIES lands in the Fiera Milano. Although this exhibition may have a regional focus, it is hard to ignore a photovoltaic production equipment trade fair.

Of course, I plan to cover the 2008 California Clean Tech Open (CCTO), and I await details on the event schedule and the regional expansion plans for the competition.

I decided to skip the 2008 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) from January 7-10, 2008, in Las Vegas, Nevada USA. Instead of the CES consolation prize, I will be attending the Macworld Conference & Expo tomorrow. I’m not sure there will be anything solar, but I will keep my eyes open.

Intersolar North America 2008

Intersolar joins SEMICON West next year in San Francisco

Intersolar North America 2008 (http://www.intersolar.us/) will be co-hosted by SEMICON West 2008 from July 15-17, 2008, at the Moscone Center West Hall, Level 3, in San Francisco, California USA.

Solar Promotion GmbH and the Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co (FWTM), the organizers of Intersolar, and SEMI, the organizer of SEMICON said:

The new exposition will be the largest trade event serving the full solar energy supply chain in the United States.

Intersolar North America is expecting about 10,000 visitors for over 200 photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal exhibitors covering 100,000 square feet (9290 square meters) of exhibition space or more.

Exhibit sales for Intersolar North America 2008 will open Thursday, November 15.

SEMICON West photovoltaic alumni exhibitors should note:

SEMICON West remains the venue for exhibitors focused on manufacturing equipment, materials and services.

Here are the respective press releases: Intersolar and SEMICON West to form largest solar technology exposition in North America and SEMI® Partners to Co-host Intersolar North America in Conjunction With SEMICON West.

Visitors registered for SEMICON West or Intersolar will be able to attend both exhibitions without paying extra fees or separate badging. Intersolar North America plans to hold a day and a half PV technology conference during the event at additional cost. I expect to see a North American version of the PV Industry Forum on the conference program.

It looks like Solar Power 2008 will have some competition starting next year. I first heard about efforts to organize an American version of Intersolar following the opening day press conference at the 22nd EU PVSEC in Milan. Intersolar 2008 Europe will be held a month earlier from June 12-14, 2008, in Munich, Germany, at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre after making the move from Freiburg im Breisgau.

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.