SEMI PV Group - The Grid, November 2012 IN THIS ISSUE China: Plenty of Promise for Distributed PV Solar Panel Makers Need Equipment Upgrades to Survive Shakeout Consolidation Crucial to Resolving PV Industry Crisis PV Fab Managers Forum Europe to Provide ITRPV Update Update on the International PV Quality Assurance Task Force Global PV Leaders Weigh In at Market Deployment Forum PV Module Prices Continue to Slide, but Signs of Recovery Appear on the Horizon CALENDAR December 3-5, 2012 PVJapan 2012 December 13, 2012 Webinar: Opportunities in the Turbulent Photovoltaic Equipment Market March 10-13, 2013 7th SEMI Europe PV Fab Managers Forum March 19-21, 2013 SOLARCON China 2013 June 5-6, 2013 SOLARCON Russia Conference & Pavilion 2013 June 19-21, 2013 Intersolar Europe, PV Production & Technologies 2013 July 9-11, 2013 Intersolar North America, PV Production & Technologies 2013 PARTNER EVENTS November 22-23, 2012 13th Forum Solarpraxis November 28-29, 2012 Solarpraxis: 4th PV Power Plants Conference - USA 2012 February 26-27, 2013 OTTI's 3rd European American Solar Deployment Conference PV Rollout 2012 - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly By Bettina Weiss, VP, Photovoltaics, SEMI Thanksgiving is approaching in the U.S., which is a welcome time to take stock, look back at the busy year we’ve had and appreciate the positive developments amidst a persistent solar winter. Rather than dwelling on well-known woes such as overcapacity, financing hurdles and a deeply depressed PV equipment market, I would like focus on what our industry has collectively achieved this year. Take jobs, for example. The Solar Foundation just reported that an additional 13,000 solar jobs were added in the U.S. this year, an uptick of 13.2%, bringing the total number of people working in solar in the U.S. to more than 119,000. 92% of U.S. voters support solar energy. And President Obama, who has set favorable goals for renewable energy, was just re-elected for a second term. (More...) Opportunities in the Turbulent Photovoltaic Equipment Market (Register for this complimentary webinar) In this webinar series brought to you by SEMI PV Group and Lux Research, Dr. Fatima Toor takes a close look at production equipment and the pain the equipment sector is suffering because of overcapacity. China: New Leadership in Beijing and Plenty of Promise for Distributed PV in Guangdong By: Eckhart Gouras, pv magazine China’s new Presidential appointments will bode well for the domestic photovoltaic market, and Guangdong and China are about to do a lot more in distributed photovoltaic power. Consolidation Crucial to Resolving PV Industry Crisis By SEMI Taiwan The consensus at the forum was that industry consolidation will be inevitable. So when will this consolidation happen? Solar Panel Makers Need Equipment Upgrades to Survive Shakeout By Lux Research Reeling from a glut of production capacity, makers of solar panels need to acquire innovative production equipment in order to cut costs, increase margins, and offer differentiated products. Update on the International PV Quality Assurance Task Force By Sarah Kurtz, NREL A proposal for how to organize a rating system was presented and discussed. The rating system is designed to provide comparative test results reflecting the long term reliability of silicon modules in multiple climates and use conditions. Global PV Leaders Weigh In at Market Deployment Forum By Toby Liu, SEMI Taiwan The market deployment forum at PV Taiwan 2012 convened industry experts to share market developments in Europe, U.S., Asia, Japan and Brazil. PV Fab Managers Forum Europe to Provide ITRPV Update By Stephan Raithel, SEMI Europe The PV Fab Managers Forum will provide an update on the International Technology Roadmap for PV (ITRPV) including input from leading European, Asian and US cell and module manufacturers. PV Module Prices Continue to Slide, but Signs of Recovery Appear on the Horizon By IHS iSuppli Global revenue for the solar module industry comprising both crystalline and thin-film modules fell for the first time this year during the third quarter to $6.63 billion, down 7 percent from $7.14 billion in the second quarter. Prior to the decline, revenue had been up 2 percent in the second quarter from $7.03 billion in the first quarter. Are you a SEMI member? Learn more about how SEMI works to advance PV industry growth, support continuous efficiency improvements and promote sustainable business practices through international standards development, events, public policy, EHS, and market data.

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