Increasing the Political Power of PV via Standards, Roadmaps, EHS, and Partnerships

Despite difficult economic conditions, an expected significant decline in worldwide PV systems installations in 2009 and an inconsistent policy landscape, the PV industry continues to gain traction as the most promising alternative energy industry of the future.

Yet, on the “Energy Solutions” heart monitor, renewable energy sources, including PV, barely have a pulse – at least compared to oil, nuclear and natural gas.

That makes sense, given that PV has major stumbling blocks obscuring progress. These include the cost per watt of installed systems compared to the grid, a lack of industry standards, fragmented and competing roadmaps for industry direction and goals, inconsistencies in advocacy across global regions, and insufficient industry and government collaboration to move the industry forward rapidly.

With the needs of an energy-hungry planet hanging in the balance, solar energy proponents must get their act together. PV is the “next big thing,” and failure is not an option. Cost per watt must go down, so that PV gets the political visibility as a reasonable solution it needs and deserves. But with increasing political visibility comes accountability. For that, some major PV struggles must be resolved.

SEMI, the global industry association representing the broader microelectronics supply chain, saw both the need and the opportunity that PV presented. SEMI established PV Group in January 2008 with two primary objectives: to increase PV’s global visibility in the political as well as the manufacturing technology arena and to help resolve the obstacles that are impeding PV progress.

PV Group is a SEMI community of equipment and materials suppliers, cell and module manufacturers, service providers and others actively engaged in the global PV manufacturing supply chain. At its core is the manufacturing process, from feedstock and starting materials through module assembly. PV Group’s membership began with existing SEMI members: equipment suppliers who transitioned into the PV industry from semiconductor and flat panel display manufacturing, and materials suppliers who saw new market opportunities for their products in PV.

Today, membership has expanded beyond these traditional groups. Far-sighted cell and module manufacturers are now actively engaged in PV Group initiatives worldwide, and small and medium-sized PV “pure players” are finding a home for their companies’ needs, challenges and growth opportunities. This merging of both old-time SEMI members and new PV members has created a dynamic and stimulating dialogue that directs much of what PV Group is doing on a regional and global level. Today’s membership in PV Group accounts for over 20% of SEMI member companies worldwide. PV Group members and their partners in the manufacturing supply chain need both global and local support to conduct their business smarter, gain access to new markets faster, accelerate commercialization and collaborate in areas that benefit the entire community. Here’s how SEMI PV Group provides that support:

The first initiative that PV Group members supported dealt with International Standards document development. Now PV standards development activity has expanded to Europe, North America, Japan, and Taiwan and is an area of major growth in the SEMI International Standards Program. Some industry stakeholders question the need for manufacturing standards in PV, fearing these standards would stifle innovation and reduce IP value, but others point to the lessons learned in over four decades of semiconductor manufacturing and the enormous beneficial impact that industry standards have had on reducing IC manufacturing cost over that time.

Volunteer experts in the PV Standards Committee are now working on making proven semiconductor and flat panel display specifications and safety guidelines “PV ready” to bring immediate benefits to the PV community. Given PV Group’s technology history, it is not surprising that the current focus of PV Standards projects in the SEMI International Standards Program is on crystalline silicon cell manufacturing. Critics and enthusiasts alike are skeptical as to how soon meaningful Standards for thin film and amorphous silicon can and should be developed.

There is also an imbalance in Standards participation and the value that participants receive from taking an active role in Standards development. While equipment and material suppliers have contributed from the beginning, the cell and module manufacturing community has been slow to engage. It will take time to find the right balance of participation and the consensus needed to standardize where appropriate and let the market decide who wins, but standardization speaks clearly to the need for the young manufacturing supply chain to collaborate, exchange, and share. Standards development, by nature and virtue a pre-competitive activity, is a proven method— not only to overcome shared challenges, but also to increase manufacturing efficiency while expanding manufacturing business to all corners of the world.

Another hotly debated topic is whether the industry needs a PV Technology Roadmap on either a national or a global basis. Together with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), PV Group hosted an exploratory workshop on July 12, 2009 in San Francisco to determine the level of interest in supply chain collaboration. The more than 130 attendees were polled on the framework and mechanisms that need to be put in place to make it successful. Workshop participants explored the history of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) as one proven model for successful collaboration, and how it could be applied to the PV industry. The second part of the workshop was dedicated to breakout sessions on critical roadmap areas such as factory integration, materials and substrates, and sustainability.

A critical portion of the workshop was devoted to current technology roadmap efforts in Japan and Europe and how these might relate to U.S. and international efforts. Dr. Winfried Hoffman, president of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA), gave an overview of the Photovoltaic Technology Platform established by the European Commission to bring together industry stakeholders, explore synergies and communicate needs to governments. This effort is “… focused on accelerating market volumes, not accelerated R&D,” she said, and consequently addresses the removal of technical, administrative and institutional barriers to rapid PV deployment. Hoffman noted that “The role of R&D development is needed, but not to drive the price/experience curve.”

The biggest challenge, though, is similar to the situation in Standards. Equipment and materials suppliers (the majority of workshop attendees) embrace the idea of working together, be it in a formal Roadmap project or through other mechanisms. However, skepticism remains strong among some cell and module manufacturers who view a Roadmap as too constricting and as counterproductive to innovation and IP development. PV Group and DOE staff are now preparing a survey to assess the most constructive and inclusive way forward. The dialogue will certainly continue.

Public policy and government advocacy in PV is one of the top three priorities for PV Group members and is actively supported and guided by the SEMI International Board of Directors as well as industry-led PV Advisory Committees that represent the PV manufacturing supply chain in a region for PV Group. Virtually all major PV markets are policy-driven, and the collective voice of the manufacturing community has helped achieve major wins in the U.S. and other parts of the world. The extension of the U.S. Investment Tax Credit (ITC), the creation of the Manufacturing Tax Credit, and favorable state legislation have all contributed to picking up the pace in the U.S., strengthening domestic manufacturing and creating jobs.

In India, the draft National Solar Mission envisions an installed solar generation capacity of 20 GW by 2020. PV Group worked closely with government and industry leaders to prepare an industry-guided white paper for solar energy development on the subcontinent. In China, where the vast majority of production capacity is exported, provincial governments are now addressing the imbalance between a high export ratio of solar production capacity (>80%) and a miniscule domestic installation rate (1%). Here also, PV Group worked closely with government and industry leaders and released recommendations for a China PV Policy roadmap. PV Group members receive support through the network of regional SEMI offices that can give visibility to critical regional issues on a global level, but also provide targeted guidance and help on local matters.

Government policy matters because it directly impacts an industry’s chances for success. Many small and medium-size companies need local support in their regions, states and districts for sustainable growth and profitability. A critical component in public policy advocacy efforts in support of solar power and PV manufacturing worldwide is the impact on employment. PV power has more beneficial impact on job creation than any other energy source, and this fact is a critical asset in lobbying efforts in support of effective solar policies. As legislators around the world become increasingly involved in solar policy, PV power's impact on employment may become more important than grid parity or sophisticated energy demand/supply models.

PV Group members are also currently exploring Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) and sustainability initiatives. Continued growth of the PV industry has placed enormous pressures on EHS needs and practices in the industry. It has also reinvigorated the global discussion about environmental ethics and collaboration on shared challenges. Operating in dozens of countries, hundreds of new production facilities have recently come on-line and thousands of new workers are interfacing with complex and potentially dangerous production processes.

One of the challenges to ensuring that effective hazard controls are in place at PV manufacturing facilities, wherever they may be located, is to develop an effective means for sharing EHS knowledge on an industry-wide scale. Through the PV Group EHS Division, member companies have access to legislative developments in all major markets, analyses on their impact on PV manufacturing, and a chance to meet and exchange ideas on best practices, risk management and environmental stewardship that transcend geographical boundaries.

As a first step, PV Group created an EHS Training and Education Initiative targeting the PV industry. SEMI plans to conduct PV EHS workshops at upcoming SEMICON and SOLARCON events in Asia, Europe and the U.S. In addition, PV Group recently launched an electronic web-based forum for the exchange of PV EHS knowledge and information. Both initiatives are designed to strengthen the global knowledge base in EHS, foster collaboration and accelerate the implementation of safer, more environmentally friendly and sustainable practices.

Many of the process hazards in PV manufacturing are similar to those encountered— and already solved— by the semiconductor industry as the result of decades of cooperative effort and information sharing. “There is a critical need to transfer the lessons learned and hazard controls developed by the semiconductor industry to the PV industry. This can occur in the form of education and training at EHS workshops, and through the application of safety guidelines and facility standards,” said Bruce Klafter, senior director, EHS and head of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at Applied Materials.

In the area of sustainability, PV Group members know that their work is not done once their products are shipped. PV Group initiatives support studies and surveys that determine, for example, to what extent sustainability factors into a company’s strategic business plan. Questions related to recycling and re-use of chemicals, lifecycle analysis of entire solar systems, and facilities management for new as well as “brown-field” fabs all need to be addressed as the PV industry continues to grow and becomes more sophisticated. Collectively developed best practices and a shared understanding of key components in a sustainability platform, for one company or the entire supply chain, must be addressed with a sense of urgency on a global basis.

Through strategic partnerships in all major core competencies, PV Group provides access to people, expertise and information on issues that matter most to the industry. In the area of industry research and statistics, members now have the opportunity to receive a variety of perspectives from partner research firms and analysts on PV market development in key regions of the world, get insights into technology trends and innovation and contribute to in-depth studies and reports.

In the Standards area, PV Group is reaching out to Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) to ensure harmonization of standardization approaches, to avoid duplication of effort and, most importantly, to have a “handshake” at critical junctures in the manufacturing process. PV Group’s scope covers the feedstock/starting materials-to-module space but does not include standards for module performance, for example, which are addressed through IEC and other organizations.

Dialogue and collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine as well as industry help shape the industry landscape in the U.S., and expanding these discussions to other regions of the world will make it easier to do business everywhere.

The PV Group is the heart of global as well as regional PV collaboration. The PV Group is collaborating with industry, governments, R&D labs and other supply chain partners to propel PV and solar energy into the future. For the planet and our industry, we have both an opportunity and an obligation to come together— and contribute to its success. We are pathfinders, and collaboration is our compass. Come join us!