“Solar’s strong growth path in the US will continue in 2012 despite the termination of the cash grant,” says Michael Schmela, chairman of the conference series and editor-in-chief of Photon International – The Solar Power Magazine. “But to be among the winners this year, it’s crucial to choose the right solar equipment, have the right partners and sign the right deals, making sure costs are low and prices competitive.”
As the number of technical PV safety solutions on offer is rapidly growing and standards organizations are working on improving guidelines for the safety of PV systems, Photon’s 3rd PV SAFETY Conference will provide an overview on the latest developments. At the event, experts from the PV industry, standards organizations, insurance companies and banks will discuss the achievements and further need to develop standards, procedures and technologies to make PV system operation safer – for reliable power generation, safe and accurate installation, with theft protection and products to switch off solar modules in the event of a fire.
While Solyndra shut its module factory, CIGS technology market-leader Solar Frontier has started full production at its 900 MW fab, and many further start-ups are ramping to mass production as well. And while the market environment for thin-film solar is tough as crystalline silicon module prices continue to fall, new CIGS efficiency records provide hope for this promising thin-film technology. After Photon’s last thin-film conference successfully focused on CIGS, this event will once again be entirely devoted to the thin-film technology with the highest efficiencies, and will feature the leading stakeholders to discuss the status and future of CIGS technology.
Meanwhile, as Western technology leaders have just pushed the efficiency of inverters to an impressive 99 percent, more and more Chinese products are flowing into the global solar market. Despite this new competition from Asia, prices for this grid-connection technology have not been under as much pressure as module prices this year. But that could change very quickly. Photon’s first US Inverter Conference will provide a comprehensive picture on the device needed for connecting PV systems to the grid – from technology, performance, reliability, and standards to supply, demand, and cost and price developments.
California is the epicentre of large-scale solar power development in the US, with about 600 MW of wholesale solar PV and concentrating solar power (CSP) projects currently on line, and more than 2.5 GW under construction. But that’s just the start: approximately 10 GW of big solar projects have requested permission to connect to the California Independent System Operator’s wholesale transmission grid in the coming years. On top of this, another 70 to 80 GW of projects are seeking interconnection to the lower voltage networks operated by investor-owned utilities. Clearly, solar developers and equipment suppliers worldwide have heard the news about California’s solar gold rush. But just like in the days of the original gold rush, there will be winners and losers.
Photon’s 7th Solar Electric Utility Conference in San Francisco will explore how to make the most out of the Golden State’s solar development opportunities.
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