July 30, 2010, Chennai, India: SOLARCON India 2010, the second edition of India’s largest solar industry event which was inaugurated by Dr Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy and presided by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Shri K Rosaiah on July 28, successfully concluded today.  SEMI, the premier solar/PV industry trade body and organizer of SOLARCON India shared that it has received an overwhelming response from industry and the stakeholders including Government response in discussing key aspects of implementation of National Solar Mission. SEMI will build on this year’s success to have an expanded SOLARCON India 2011 to be conducted on 9-11 in Nov.

SOLARCON India 2010 saw high quality business visitors with a substantial number from the senior CXO level professionals and Board level executives.  This year’s conference saw visitors from over 30 countries, across manufacturing, technology, materials, sub-systems, component and part manufacturing segments reinforcing the growth of the Indian industry and actively discussing the implementation of the Government’s JN NSM.

The conference highlight with high profile speakers like Dr Bharat Bhargava, MNRE, Govt. of India, Dr Hans Ebliker, Oerliokon Solar, Ravi Raina, Astonfiled Renewables, Dr R.R Sonde, Thermax, Dr Madhusudan Atre, Applied Materials India, Dr Winfried Hoffman, Dr. Hoffmann, President EPIA, Mr Deepak Gupta, IAS, Secretary, MNRE, Dr Richard Corkish, Head of School, School of Photovaltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of New South Wales among others.

Today at SOLARCON India 2010, a workshop on PV Standards, Testing and Certification was held. Standards are a proven way of reducing cost in manufacturing process.  The PV industry can greatly benefit from these experiences.  The Global PV Standards Committee in SEMI’s International Standards Program is already active in many areas of the manufacturing supply chain since 2007.  It is important to align standardization efforts with other standards’ developing organization in order to accelerate cost reduction efforts, improve quality and get products to market faster.  ‘In module testing and certification, testing houses need to address the existing gaps and testing protocol and processes and develop clear  mechanisms to ensure quality and reduce safety hazards.  Cost reduction measures and quality concerns have to be addressed throughout the PV value chain from feedstock and starting materials all the way final installation’ said Bettina Weiss, Senior Director, Photovoltaic, SEMI.

Dan Martin, Executive Vice-president, and Head of the PVGroup Worldwide said, “The second edition exceeded our expectations and am pleased with the response from all stakeholders to SOLARCON India 2010. The encouraging response provides us the confidence to work more closely with the Indian industry and Government towards the growth of the sector. Am personally excited about the role we can play in the Indian solar / PV market which is witnessing a growth curve.”

Speaking on a key focus area that needs attention in the Indian solar/PV industry, which SEMI India will take forward in the coming months, Sathya Prasad, President, SEMI India, said, “We have identified PV Industry standards as a key area of focus as this can greatly help in reducing manufacturing cost. We organized an international workshop on industry standards at this year’s SOLARCON and will set up a working Committee. We will now focus on working with all relevant regional organizations in paving the way for standards related to solar/PV manufacturing in India. I would like to thank all the stakeholders for making this a great success and look forward to bigger event in 2011.”

About SOLARCON India 2010:  SOLARCON India 2010 is the premier solar energy focused exhibition and conference in India. It combines a best-in-class international Exhibition & a three-day Conference at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), Hyderabad between July 28 -30, 2010. The conference attracts high profile participation of solar energy leaders from all segments of the industry supply chain, academia and the government from India and around the world. The event attracts highly focused business visitors including industry executives & professionals, researchers, entrepreneurs, financiers, academics, architects/builders and other end-users. For more information, please visit, www.solarconindia.org.

About SEMI/PV Group: SEMI India, the Indian arm of the global industry organization SEMI, was established in 2008. SEMI serves the needs of the industry and the manufacturing supply chains for the microelectronic, display and photovoltaic industries. Since 1970, SEMI has been committed to helping members grow more profitably, create new markets and meet common industry challenges. SEMI is engaged in nearly all of the major technology regions of the world including India. Primary activities include conferences and trade shows, international standards development, public policy, market research, environmental, health and safety (EHS). For more information, please visit www.semi.org

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