SEMI PV Group ♦ The Grid, March 2012 IN THIS ISSUE SEMI Releases Policy White Paper on U.S. Solar Manufacturing PV Marking Standard Addresses Traceability of Wafers and Solar Cells Is the End Nigh as Fukushima Anniversary Passes? Regional Meeting of the International PV QA Assurance Task Force U.S.: Senator Bingham Introduces Clean Energy Standard China's 12th 5-Year Plan Calls for Major Capacity Expansions Despite Downturn New Test Methods and Chemical Standards Published U.S.: ARPA-E Issues Open Call for Transformational Energy Technologies CALENDAR Mar 20-22, 2012 SOLARCON China 2012 Mar 25-27, 2012 6th PV Fab Managers Forum Mar 25-27, 2012 SEMI PV Standards Meetings at 6th PV Fab Managers Forum April 3-4, 2012 SEMI North America Spring PV Standards Meetings April 12, 2012 SEMI Japan Spring PV Standards Meetings 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 July 11-12, 2012 SEMI PV Standards Meetings at SEMICON West/Intersolar North America PARTNER EVENTS March 19, 2012 PV Project Implementation Conference at SOLARCON China 2012 March 29-30, 2012 PV Power Plants EU April 17-18, 2012 IntertechPira's Photovoltaics Summit May 1-2, 2012 Greentech Media's Solar Summit AWARDS Intersolar Europe Award The International Technology Roadmap for PV - 3rd Edition By Stephan Raithel, director PV Europe, SEMI PV Group The current situation in Europe's photovoltaic industry is characterized by uncertainty driven by unclear political policies. Increasingly, countries in Europe are looking for a sustainable energy future, to reduce their reliance on electricity generated by nuclear and other fossil fuels and to move towards generating renewable energy such as solar, wind, and biomass. However, so far, not one European country has developed a master plan to enable this fundamental energy turnaround. In addition to the political parameters, it is critical to work jointly on technology innovations. Only continuous technology improvement and supportive public policy will ensure that photovoltaic technology will play a significant role in creating a new energy future for the world. At this point, the International Technology Roadmap for PV (ITRPV) facilitated by the SEMI PV Group is more important than ever. More than 20 participating companies are working towards the goal of making PV more competitive and ensuring technological progress. This effort is extraordinary because companies that are competitors are (More...) SEMI Releases Policy White Paper on U.S. Solar Manufacturing By Bettina Weiss, SEMI The white paper contains policy recommendations to stimulate and support the growth of the U.S. solar manufacturing industry. The report is authored by the SEMI PV Group and North American PV Advisory Council which is comprised of representatives from leading solar companies with manufacturing operations in the United States and other industry leaders. PV Marking Standard Addresses Traceability of Wafers and Solar Cells By Kevin Nguyen, SEMI Standards Unique identification of individual solar cells regarding their manufacturer and year of manufacturing throughout the manufacturing process of solar cells and modules and throughout the lifetime of the solar cell/module are traced. Is the End of Renewables Nigh as Fukushima Anniversary Passes? By Paul Gipe As the March 11 anniversary of the Fukushima reactor meltdown comes and goes, the steady drip of anti-renewables articles in the mainstream media will become a torrent as the nuclear lobby cranks up its public relations machine. Regional Meeting of the International PV QA Assurance Task Force By Sarah Kurtz, NREL The PV QA Task Force was formed to build on this community experience in order to define a common set of tests. U.S.: Senator Bingham Introduces Clean Energy Standard; Senate Votes on Energy Ammendments By Jamie Girard, SEMI Bingaman's plan would provide clean-energy credits to various sources of electricity based on their carbon footprint. Natural-gas plants would receive half a credit because the fossil fuel produces about half as many carbon emissions as coal. China's 12th Five Year Plan Calls for Major Capacity Expansions Despite Downturn By Matthew Feinstein, Lux Research Even though some Chinese solar suppliers – Suntech Power is a notable example – have frozen capacity expansions due to slow growth in demand, China is reportedly pushing its top solar companies to expand. New Test Methods and Chemical Standards Published By Kevin Nguyen, SEMI Standards SEMI published four new photovoltaic standards and the SEMI PV task forces developed two new test methods to measure resistivity and haze, and two chemical specifications providing impurity limits for 2-Propanol and sulfuric acid. ARPA-E Issues Open Call for Transformational Energy Technologies By U.S. Department of Energy This Open Funding Opportunity Announcement is a call to our country's brightest scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs to propose early-stage research projects that would not otherwise be able to attract private investment, but could lead to breakthrough energy technologies.

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