Message from the Industry

This year’s 25th EU PVSEC in Valencia, which is also the 5th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC-5) in cooperation with our US and Asian/Pacific colleagues, will be the highlight for the global industry and scientific community in this starting decade of 2010. This worldwide truly largest and unique B2B2S event (business to business to science) will bring together all actors working towards our common goal to power the increasing energy needs of a still growing number of global citizens most efficiently and very soon at lowest cost for the different applications. While the world saw last year a dramatic break down in almost all industrial sectors due to the worst financial crisis in the last decades, it has been the Renewable Energy sector in general and the PV solar electricity industry and market in particular which showed in 2009 even an astonishing increase compared to 2008: the end customer market grew from 5.7 GW most probably well over 6 GW despite the crash of the Spanish market but thanks to about 3 GW new installations in Germany. To fulfil the RES directive it is now of crucial importance that within the National Renewable Action Plan, where all 27 member states have to submit their individual goals by the end of June 2010, every one should understand the full potential of PV and integrate this rewarding technology properly. Based upon our successful “SET for 2020” study, where SEIA (US) has adopted a very similar approach, EPIA has started a study, again with AT Kearney, on PV in Sunbelt Countries. The combination of very high solar irradiation (thus low LCOE) and high electricity cost in these regions will make PV very rapidly competitive. Analyzing the market development in key geographies of the Sunbelt Region like China, India, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico the market potential could by 2020 be similar or even bigger than shown in the 12% electricity share for Europe (390 GW cumulative installations in EU). This could and should then be the starting point to achieve also the Millennium goal, namely to successfully fight poverty on a global scale.

Dr. Winfried Hoffmann

CTO of Applied Materials Solar Business Group

President of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA)