Off to Shanghai

It is the year of the rabbit. It is that time again for solar industry personnel to pack their bags and head east (unless you are already there). The 5th SNEC International Photovoltaic Power Generation Conference and Exhibition or simply SNEC as it is affectionately known will take place this time round between the 22-24 February, post Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations as Chinese companies start getting back their rhythm again after the festive break. The PV Power Exhibition will find itself in the Shanghai New International Expo Center and the PV Power Conference at the Kerry Hotel in Pudong. Now that the basic requirements as to direction are settled, it is time to get down to business.
New record, new expectations. From the previous 85,000 square meters, visitors this year will have to brave 150,000 square meters of PV, PV and more PV. A feast. One is also expected to rub shoulders with more than 1,600 estimated exhibitors, 4,000 experts and scholars and 100,000 professionals. The VIP list is already looking impressive, with Murray Cameron, the Board Director of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, Yiren Jiang, Member of the Standing Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Chairman of the Presidium of the China Federation of Industrial Economics (CFIE), Dinghuan Shi, Counselor of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China and Chief Director of Chinese Renewable Energy Society (CRES) chairing the Presidium. Martin Green, Executive Research Director of the ARC Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence at the University of New South Wales will be present as one of the chairs of the Academic Committee.
The conference theme for this year is ‘Develop New Energy, Benefit All Mankind’. The nine sessions planned aim to pave the way towards enabling the photovoltaic industry to obtain a rapid, steady and sustainable growth. There is also expectation for international exchanges and cooperation in a bid to accelerate the technological advancements in the sector to guarantee quality and expand market application. The sub-sessions circle around advanced photovoltaic technologies, crystalline silicon solar cells and materials, thin film cells, equipment manufacturing and automation and lastly PV systems and smart grid technologies. This is a slight deviation from last year where the spotlight fell on investments, financing, silicon materials as well as policy and project bidding as well.
China, for one, had a good run in 2010 and this year looks just as promising and opportunity packed. The focus on finances and investments was a good choice last year, considering Mercom Capital’s report for 2010 placed China as the leader in terms of solar transactions. Credit facilities that were provided to Chinese companies by Chinese banks was a hefty 34 billion U.S. dollars (USD), which overshadowed all other solar transactions in 2010 according to the report. Large scale project funding was USD4.1 billion in 2010 while debt and other funding types were USD36 billion of which the USD34 billion were in the form of credit facilities from Chinese government banks to Chinese solar companies like LDK Solar, Yingli Solar, JA Solar, Suntech and Trina Solar. 2010 also saw the large presence of German, European and North American cell and module manufacturers being large presented. This year, Asian manufacturers from countries like Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan are also expected to make their presence felt after the Asian bull year before, with Asian solar companies and markets having made the headlines often enough in 2010.
The parallel session on thin film sees presentations from companies like Baoding TianWei SolarFilms, Chint Solar, Sulfurcell, Konarka, Dai Nippon and Polar Photovoltaics to name a few. Under silicon materials, one can expect industry heavy-weights like Renewable Energy Corporation and Applied Material. PV System and Smart Grid Technologies sees companies like American Superconductor Corporation and Phoenix Solar taking the helm. High-level talks have been planned between industry top leaders and CEOs as well, namely with participation from the likes of Kyocera and First Solar. Concentrated solar power (CPV) also comes into focus during the parallel sessions. Site visits to photovoltaic demonstration bases and manufacturing factories have also been planned in the course of three days. The investment environment around the Yangtze Delta region can also be checked out by interested parties during the PV SNEC.
As the PV SNEC committee strengthens the content and presentations of the conference, informative and engaging atmospheres can be expected. Innovations are expected this year as companies push their own boundaries after the myriad of technological announcements made last year. New efficiencies, new thin film materials on the horizon of commercial viability, promise of faster production and the visions of a number to fully automate. With announcements from the likes of Reis Robotics bringing in fully automated junction box assemblies to Bosch Rexroth developing their slide-in module support system that apparently cuts installation time by half, from Sanyo’s N Series HIT modules with 21.2 percent efficiency to contactless suction force via Festo’s Bernoulli Gripper for transport. Innovations filled the year and what is ahead is to be seen at the SNEC in Shanghai. As DEK Solar’s Alternative Energy Business Manager, Darren Brown, sums up the excitement on technologies, “We are looking forward to visiting SNEC, which always provides a valuable opportunity for visitors to discover state-of-the-art photovoltaic technologies.” Shanghai, here we come!