SOLARCON India 2009, the first and largest exhibition dedicated to serving the business and technology needs of India's fast-growing solar photovoltaic (PV) industry, was held November 9-11, 2009 in the central Indian city of Hyderabad. India’s growing energy needs and its ability to tap the power of the sun, combined with the timing of the event (just ahead of the announcement of the National Solar Mission) helped drive up interest and make it a successful first show. The event generated wide media coverage and publicity with over 120 media representatives attending the event.

The exhibition attracted 70 exhibitors (163 booths) representing the entire PV supply chain from 11 countries. Over 50 leading national and international experts on solar/PV-- from the industry, academia, policy making/regulatory bodies, the government, financial and analyst organizations, and NGOs presented to about 600 conference and workshop delegates. Over 3,500 people attended the event, including exhibition business visitors.

Chief Minister K. Rosaiah holding the non-conventional solar lantern for the traditional Indian lamp lighting ceremony.

SOLARCON India, organized in association with Intersolar, was supported by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) of the Government of India, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), and the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC). The conference was held in partnership with the India Semiconductor Association (ISA). SOLARCON India 2009 was inaugurated on Nov 9, by Sri K. Rosaiah (the Hon’ble Chief Minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh, the host state), the Andhra Pradesh Minister for Heavy Industries Mr. Kanna Lakshmi Narayana, the Minister for Information Technology of the state of West Bengal (the eastern Indian state that has seen significant solar/PV activity), Dr. Debesh Das, and other dignitaries from the Government of Andhra Pradesh such as Mr. BP Acharya, Chairman and Managing Director of APIIC. The symbolic and traditional Indian lamp lighting ceremony was conducted on the occasion, appropriately, by turning on solar lanterns.

Dan Martin speaking for the SEMI PV Group.

Dr. Eicke Weber (director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems) delivered the inaugural keynote address.

Dr. Eicke Weber, director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Germany, delivered the inaugural keynote address and received the 1^st FabCity Excellence Award instituted by APIIC, from the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

The three day conference addressed topics covering: Markets, Strategies for Cost Competitiveness, Policy and Finance, Key PV applications for India, Standards, PV and Climate Change, the Balance of Systems (BOS) and PV Projects, planning and implementation. Conference speakers included:

Dr. Charles Gay, president of Applied Materials Solar Dr. Pramod Deo, IAS, Chairman, CERC Mr. K. Subramanya, CEO, Tata BP Solar

Mr. Jigar Shah, Founder of Sun Edison Mr. Sunil Gupta, Head of Cleantech, Morgan Stanley Prof. Peter Adelmann, University of Applied Sciences, Ulm, Germany

Dr. Rajiv Arya, CEO of Moser Baer PV Mr. Gaetan Borgers, Global Solar Industry Director, Dow Corning Dr. Murray Cameron, VP, EPIA & COO Phoenix Solar Dr. Juergen Fleischer, Chairman MAG

The sessions included representatives from: AES Solar Energy, Astonfield Renewable Resources, CERC, Dow Corning, EPIA, Fraunhofer ISE, Frost & Sullivan, GreenInfra, IDFCPE, IFC/World Bank, Indosolar, iSuppli, Kotak Urja, Lanco Solar, Luminous Tele Infra, MAG, Morgan Stanley (Cleantech), Moser Baer PV, NDPL, Refex Energy, ORB Energy, SEMI PV Group, SMA Solar Technology, Solar Semiconductor, SunTechnics, SustainAbility, Tata BP Solar, TERI, Titan Energy Systems, Underwriters Labs, Virasa Technologies, Websol Energy Systems and WWF India.

SOLARCON India 2009 was widely acknowledged as a very successful first show, even in a crowded local environment of multiple renewable energy events. It was appreciated for the quality of its exhibition, its visitors and participants that resulted in significant business inquiries and lead generation, the conference program (crafted by SEMI India’s Conference Program Committee), and for its international class event organization and venue.

Event Venue: Hyderabad International Convention Centre .	The Chief Minister of AP inspecting a Solar Autorickshaw
Minister of Major Industries, Mr. Kanna Lakshmi Narayana, speaks.	Charlie Gay’s keynote on Day 2.

SEMI PV group, in association with the Semiconductor Safety Association Europe (SSA-E), also presented on Nov 11, a day-long technical workshop on EHS (Environment, Health and Safety) for PV manufacturers. This “first-of-its-kind” in India workshop was very well received by over forty PV operational experts and personnel in attendance. EHS has also been identified as a key focus area for SEMI India’s activities.

SEMI India now faces the opportunity and challenge of organizing an even bigger and

better SOLARCON India in 2010!

For more information on the SEMI PV Group, download the "A Case for Solar in India" White Paper. Please visit www.solarconindia.org to register.

About SEMI PV Group:

The PV Group is a SEMI special interest group that serves the photovoltaic supply chain. Participating companies provide manufacturing equipment, materials, cells, modules, sub-systems, and components to the solar energy industry worldwide. The PV Group mission is to advance industry growth, support continuous efficiency improvements and promote sustainable business practices through international standards development, events, public policy advocacy, EHS support, market intelligence, and other services. For more information, visit: www.pvgroup.org.

December 1, 2009