Wednesday, November 9, 2011

SOLARCON India 2011 kicks off in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD, INDIA: SOLARCON India 2011, the third edition of India’s premier solar energy focused event organized by SEMI India, the industry association representing the Indian solar/PV industry, kicked off today. Francisco J. Sanchez, Undersecretary for Commerce for International Trade, USA, was the Chief Guest.

Dr. J. Gururaja, member, SEMI India PV Advisory Committee and former Advisor to the MNES (Govt of India), and Jim Brown, president, Utility Systems Business Group, First Solar were also present at the inauguration ceremony, along with Dr. Bharat Bhargava, director - PV, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Govt. of India.

The SOLARCON India 2011 exposition held alongside the main event and reflecting the widening solar value chain in India; is themed “Showcasing the Solar Eco-System: From Polysilicon to Power Plants.”

SOLARCON India 2011 features over 70 speakers from the industry, academia and government. The conference is themed "Charting India's Roadmap to Solar Leadership — Translating Potential into Reality."

Francisco J. Sanchez, US Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade, said there are many opportunities in the Indian solar PV industry. The solar sector boomed and has brought triple border line gains. It created many jobs, and annually, increased by 15 percent.

India is spending $19 billion by 2022 to produce 20GW of solar energy. There will be a lot of engineers, manufacturers, etc., who can monitor and contribute to the growth of the industry.

He advised that there will be an abundance of job opportunities if India and the US work as partners. “It will lead to clean energy and a cleaner environment, and mitigation of climate change. The Department of Commerce has invested millions in clean energy. We do it for our friendship and the common bonds that we share.

“Some of the obstacles include repositioning for success, where companies indulge in unfair trade practices. When the market is open for competition, it creates thousands of jobs, and the market is growing quickly, helping many. It is all about chance and choice. We have a chance to build a great industry. We need to work together in partnership and share value. We will work together for the good of India and its consumers.”

Ms. Bettina Weiss, executive director, SEMI PV Group, said: “Through SOLARCON India 2011, SEMI continues to bring global exposure and expertise in the solar energy space in form of topical seminars by world’s leading expert speakers and participation of global companies. We are happy to see the event emerging as the definitive platform for the solar industry in India.”

Debasish Paul Choudhury, president, SEMI India, added, “SOLARCON India 2011 is a platform to give voice to the solar manufacturing industry and ecosystem in India, and to further serve our constituents through a wide range of initiatives, such as workforce development, industry standards, public policy, market research and environmental, health and safety (EHS) programs.”

SOLARCON India 2011 also features an LED summit, co-organized with Frost & Sullivan, and a short technical course on “Grid Connected Solar PV Systems”, in technical collaboration with the National Centre for PV Research & Education, IIT Bombay.

First Solar is also sponsoring a half-day technology seminar. Key technologists featured at the seminar include Dr. Angelo Mascarenhas, NREL US, Dr. Anjaneyulu Krothapalli, Sujana Energy, Dr. Dirk Hermann, Solibro Research and Hari Ponnekanti, Fellow, Applied Materials.

The event, certified by the US Department of Commerce, features an exclusive US Pavilion with 14 leading companies. A 35-member Clean Tech delegation, led by Francisco J. Sanchez, was present at the inaugural ceremony.

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