SEMI PV Group ♦ The Grid, December 2011 IN THIS ISSUE Europe: Dawning of New Era Beyond Grid Parity Continued Decline in PV Equipment B2B Ratio Underscores Challenging Market Conditions Taiwan, Small but Mighty SEMI China PV Standards Committee Established US: Opportunities for US Solar, Smart Grid and Clean Tech Companies in Saudi Arabia SEMI Standard for Silicon Wafers SEMI PV Chemicals Standardization Update New VDE Rules Impose Stricter Regulations on Inverters in Germany PV Companies Shifting From Market Share Focus to Profitability in 2012 Developing Export Strategies/International Partners in Global Solar and Clean Tech CALENDAR Mar 20-22, 2012 SOLARCON China 2012 Mar 25-27, 2012 6th PV Fab Managers Forum June 13-15, 2012 PV Production and Technology at Intersolar Europe 2012 July 10-12, 2012 PV Production and Technology at Intersolar North America 2012 PARTNER EVENTS Jan 16-19, 2012 World Future Energy Summit Feb 9-10, 2012 OTTI: 2nd European-American Solar Deployment Conference -PV Rollout 2012 Feb 27-28, 2012 Inverter and PV System Technology - USA 2012 March 19, 2012 PV Project Implementation Conference at SOLARCON China 2012 The Yin and Yang of PV Industry Outlook Both Dim and Bright By Bettina Weiss, Executive Director, PV Group At the recent PVJapan exposition held in Chiba, Japan, my conversations with manufacturers and suppliers throughout the three-day event were strangely "yin yang," mixing the positive with the negative. The overall market outlook is looking dim next year, but significant growth is expected in Japan, U.S. and elsewhere; c-Si continues to dominate PV deployment, but exciting technical developments and financing are occurring in thin film; headlines say profits are disappearing, but many firms will report record years; and, global trade is threatened by possible tariff wars, but China's participation in global standards and collaboration efforts has never been greater. Is there something going on here? Is there a reason why dark clouds seemingly share the sky with the bright sun? I believe the answer is that every young industry has growing pains, that long-term growth is always characterized by fluctuating short-term business results. Technology change and progress and how it will affect the future are always uncertain. Technology industries--and energy industries--serve markets characterized persistent, insatiable, long-term demand--but capacity, investment and profit will fluctuate quarter by quarter. Concerning the market forecasts, just last week SEMI reported that for the quarter ending September 30, 2011, the worldwide photovoltaic manufacturing equipment book-to-bill ratio fell to 0.35, reaching its lowest level since the start of the data collection in the first quarter of 2010. (Read press release.) The deteriorating billings and bookings data underscores the overall softening in the global PV industry. After aggressive capital equipment spending across the entire supply chain that characterized 2010 and the early part of 2011, many PV manufacturers have cancelled or put on hold their capacity expansion plans, as challenging market conditions and poor visibility into market expectations continue to overshadow the industry outlook into next year. The expectation is that bookings will not significantly improve in the next six months without policy adjustments in Europe, Japan and China, combined with easing of credit markets and improved economic growth. (More...) Europe Focus: Dawning of a New Era Beyond Grid Parity By Parag Bhamre, EuPD Research The development of the PV sector broadly and in principle can be based and divided on demand cycles which have evolved overtime. Continued Decline in PV Equipment Book-to-Bill Ratio Underscores Challenging Market Conditions By Melody Song, SEMI Industry Research and Statistics Just last week we reported that for the quarter ending September 30, 2011, the worldwide photovoltaic manufacturing equipment book-to-bill ratio fell to 0.35, reaching its lowest level since the start of the data collection in the first quarter of 2010. Taiwan, Small but Mighty By Becky Stuart, pv magazine While the industry may be relatively small, its manufacturers know exactly what needs to be done to gain a competitive edge, and how they will achieve their goals. SEMI China PV Standards Committee Established By Vicky Zhou, SEMI China During the SEMI International Standards Committee (ISC) meeting held at PVJapan 2011, formation of the SEMI China Photovoltaic Standards Committee was officially approved by the ISC. Opportunities for U.S. Solar, Smart Grid, and Clean Tech Companies in Saudi Arabia By Jennifer Derstine, Office of Energy and Environmental Industries, Washington, D.C. Saudi Arabia offers abundant opportunities to U.S. companies that can contribute to its ambitious plans to improve energy efficiency and reduce reliance on hydrocarbons for power generation. SEMI PV Standards Updates: December 2011 By Kevin Nguyen and James Amano, SEMI Standards SEMI Standard for Silicon Wafers SEMI PV Chemicals Standardization Update New VDE Rules Impose Stricter Regulations on Inverters in Germany By Matthew Feinstein, Lux Research Beginning in 2012, solar systems constructed in Germany will have to adhere to VDE 4105. PV Companies Shift from Focus on Market Share Growth to Profitability in 2012 By NPD Solarbuzz In 2012, the top priority of PV companies will be to improve their financial position after losses across the industry in 2011 that were caused by over-production, excess inventories, and collapsing market prices. Developing Export Strategies and Identifying International Partners in the Global Solar and Clean Tech Market By Shannon Fraser, U.S. Commercial Service – San Jose Export Assistance Center The Commercial Service - Export Assistance Center in San Jose is delighted to share information and resources on export services and programs with SEMI PV Group and member companies.

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