24th EU PVSEC: 2009 Becquerel Prize Awarded

[Hamburg, Germany] From 24th EU PVSEC Dr. Andreas Bett awarded the 17th Becquerel Prize for the successful development of photovoltaic concentrator technology. The Prize is named after French physicist Alexandre Edmond Becquerel (1820-1891) who discovered the photovoltaic effect in 1839 at age 19. During the opening session of the 24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, Dr. Andreas Bett, accepted the award after a Laudatio titled “Striving for Highest Efficiencies” by Professor Wolfram Wetting on the occasion of the Becquerel Prize ceremony. Dr. Bett is the Head of the Materials – Solar Cells and Technology department and a Deputy Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) located in Freiburg, Germany. From left to right in the above award presentation photo are Professor Adolf Goetzberger… Read More >>

Mesa Energy picks SolFocus for 92 kiloWatt CPV Installation

Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) Showcase project using SolFocus has an installed cost of $6.04 per Watt (W). When I first saw “SolFocus Receives Award from National Renewable Energy Laboratory”, I missed the subheading, “City of Mesa, Arizona to Serve as First Showcase of Technology Developed in the DOE/NREL PV Incubator Program”. Only later in Google Alerts did I notice “Solar Panels to Produce Power, Boost Local Economy” which states: The City of Mesa announced an agreement with SolFocus, Inc. to build 11 concentrating photovoltaic solar arrays, which will help the City meet its energy needs, foster the development of solar technologies and invest in Mesa’s economy. The next

Photovoltaic Conference and Exhibition Preview 2009

Significant photovoltaic conferences and events in 2009. In chronological order, here are the conferences I am interested in following or covering in 2009. Given that visibility thing, I’m not making plans beyond PHOTON’s Technology Show. As last year (Part 2 update), my focus remains technical conferences and business to business trade shows, not regional marketing or sales events. However, I am still considering smaller technical conferences in lieu of the larger mega events because of repetitive content. There is little location alignment among the eleven events although the San Francisco Bay area and Munich have two events each.

23rd EU PVSEC Closing Session: Endgame

What about the 24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC)?

In the presentations following the announcement of the 23rd EU PVSEC Closing Session: Poster Award Winners, Executive Conference Director Dr. Peter Helm updated the 23rd EU PVSEC statistics. The Conference had 4212 Delegates from 87 countries led by Germany (1100), the US (630), and Spain (319). The Spanish participation was light because so many Spaniards were working to complete photovoltaic installations before the current Feed-in Tariff law expires on September 28, 2008.

Dr. Helm observed that although China did not account for even one percent (1%) of the Conference delegates, Chinese companies exhibited on ten percent (10%) of the available Exhibition stand space behind only Germany (30%) and

23rd EU PVSEC Closing Session: Poster Award Winners

23rd EU PVSEC Poster Award Winners Group Photo

After the 23rd EU PVSEC Closing Session: Technical Highlights, Dr. Herbert-Peter Grimm presented the Poster (Visual Presentation) Awards for the 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC).

Dr. Grimm said all the contributors deserved a bronze medal, but the Poster Award Committee was challenged to select the winners from so many good papers. Noting the use of dice might have been helpful on occasion, Dr. Grimm mentioned two key criteria in the

23rd EU PVSEC Closing Session: Technical Highlights

[Valencia, Spain]

Continuing where the 23rd EU PVSEC Closing Session: 2008 Becquerel Prize Awarded left off, Dr. Heinz Ossenbrink, Technical Programme Chairman, presented his view of the Conference Technical Highlights from the 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC).

This year, Dr. Ossenbrink admitted relying on section chairs for inputs, and it is always possible to miss something significant. However, I did see Dr. Ossenbrink at a number of Oral Presentations.

Dr. Ossenbrink’s presentation is first captured below as a Picasa slideshow and then with inline text to satisfy the hungry search engines.

(Some) Highlights of the 23rd European Photovoltaic Conference and Exhibition

Valencia, Spain1-5 September 2008

Dr. Heinz

23rd EU PVSEC Closing Session: 2008 Becquerel Prize Awarded

[Valencia, Spain]

Mechtild Rothe becomes the first woman awarded the Becquerel Prize.

After Conference General Chairman Daniel Lincot kicked off the 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) closing session, the 2008 Becquerel Prize for Outstanding Merits in Photovoltaics was awarded to Mechtild Rothe (Deutsch) by Professor Dr. Adolf Goetzberger, Chairman of the Becquerel Prize Committee, and Dr. Wolfgang Palz.

Mechtild Rothe is Vice President of the European Parliament where she has been a Member since 1984 and belongs to the German SPD (Social Democratic Party or Sozialdemokratischen Partei Deutschlands). Ms. Rothe has been a longtime champion for renewables and photovoltaics

23rd EU PVSEC Opening Session and Press Conference

[Valencia, Spain]

The big news was who was absent.The Valencia Call for Solar Photovoltaics.

While “Regional Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Mario Flores Lanuza has opened the world´s largest solar energy conference in Valencia” (Español) may have been the headline, the key observation on the Monday morning, September 1, 2008, opening of the 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) was no representative from the Spanish central government chose to attend the “the most important international Event in the field of Photovoltaics”.

Discussions in the opening speeches and press conference centered on the “Spanish question” regarding a draft proposal to reduce Spain’s photovoltaic (PV) Feed-in Tariff (FiT) and cap annual installations at 300 MWp (MegaWatt-peak)

Early Registration Photos at the 23rd EU PVSEC

[Valencia, Spain]

Q-Cells Party info!

Not ready to brave a Valencia beach excursion, I decided to head over to the Feria Valencia on Sunday to obtain my 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) Press badge and conference bag and to check out the venue. As it turned out, Press badges are not being distributed until Monday morning. However, I did have unprecedented access to the Conference auditoriums and Exhibition. This was not exclusive to me; anyone interested could have taken a good look around.

As I said last year in the “22nd EU PVSEC Closing Session”:

Peter Helm, the Executive Conference Director, discussed the selection of Valencia, Spain, for the 23rd EU

23rd EU PVSEC Preview

Global PV Industry taking planes, trains, automobiles, and perhaps boats to Valencia for “the most important international Event in the field of Photovoltaics”.

The 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) opens Monday, September 1, 2008 (Labor Day!), and runs through the Closing Ceremony at Noon on Friday, September 5, 2008, located at the Feria Valencia Convention and Exhibition Centre in Valencia, Spain.

While the Conference Dinner is booked, it appears Conference Registration is still possible. Per custom, the Welcome Letter has been emailed to Registered Conference Delegates and will also be included in the Conference Bag. Please consult the Overview