Conferences

source: http://www.powderandbulk.com/

Westport, CT -- Bridging the gap between science, technology and commercialization will be the focal point for the Nano and Green Technology Conference and Symposium during the 2009 Chem Show at New York’s Javits Convention Center, November 17-19.

Created specifically for the Chem Show by Innovative Research and Products (iRAP) and designed to help CPI professionals around the world better understand the benefits of the emerging technologies, the Nano and Green Conference & Symposium will provide unique insights into nanotechnology and its impact on green ‘processing’.

"Nanotechnology is being increasingly used to benefit the new generation green technologies including fuel cells, batteries, solar cells, new generation coatings to prevent heat losses, more efficient chemical processing techniques including filtration and catalysis, and less electronic devices that consume less power," said Dr. Thomas Abraham, President of Innovative Research and Products and Chairman of the symposium.

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The NanoBusiness Alliance, the world’s leading nanotechnology trade association, and the Colorado Nanotechnology Alliance today announced the keynote lineup for the 2nd annual Nano Renewable Energy Summit, which will return to the University of Denver, CO, from June 22 – 23, 2009. http://www.nanoenergysummit.org/

The Nano Renewable Energy Summit is a gathering of world-renowned experts at the intersection of renewable energy and nanotechnology, with a specific focus on the business, commercialization, and economic development potential of emerging technologies in the renewable energy and sustainability sectors.

"We are very excited to return to Denver for the 2nd Annual Summit. Based upon the success of our first year, with over 250 attendees, we have determined that Denver is the perfect city for Nanotechnology as it relates to renewable energy and more specifically to solar energy, which will be a focal point of this year’s event," said Vincent Caprio, NanoBusiness Alliance Vice President and Event Director. "2008 was the year of change in America with the election of President Obama, and solar energy is a critically important issue, being discussed both at home and in corporate board rooms."

The event will feature keynote presentations from the following thought leaders in the area of nanotechnology-based renewable energy:
Dr. Dan Arvizu – Director, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Jack Uldrich – Global Futurist and Best-Selling Author
David C. Craig – President and CEO, Citizenre
Scott M. Livingston – CEO, Livingston Securities LLC
Michael Holman – Research Director, Lux Research Inc.
Dr. Mohan S. Misra – Founder and CEO, Ascent Solar

"The solar sector is having a breakout year. The latest business developments in solar and the other key renewable energy markets will be in the spotlight at this year’s international summit," said Griffith Kundahl, Director, Global Programs, University of Denver.

The Nano Renewable Energy Summit is presented in conjunction with the Golden, Colorado based National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). For information on sponsoring or exhibiting at the Nano Renewable Energy Summit in Colorado, please contact Vincent Caprio at vincentcaprio@nanoenergysummit.org.

Source: Josephine Mooney, SEPA

Washington, D.C.--On Tuesday, February 24,Solar Power International organizers quietly opened exhibit space sales to the general public and by the end of the day had booked an astonishing 100 new exhibitors (in addition to the 308 "priority points" exhibitors who had already secured space in advance of the public sale date). In spite of current economic realities, it appears the sixth year of this quintessential industry event, which will be held in Anaheim, California, October 27-29, will prove to be another for the record books. According to the show organizers, Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the exhibit floor is expected to sell out quickly as potentially 650 companies from around the world gather to showcase their technologies. To date, 128,000 net square feet has been sold-more than last year's overall total of 87,000 net square feet-to a total of 408 exhibitors.* Overall attendance is expected to top 25,000 in 2009.

"The industry has gained significant momentum in the U.S., especially with the recent eight-year extension of the solar investment tax credit and growing interest from electric utilities worldwide", said SEPA Executive Director Julia Hamm. "With a new Administration and Congress committed to expanding renewable energy resources and protecting the environment, the U.S. is poised for continued growth of solar energy. And Solar Power International is where it all comes together, covering policy, finance, technology and market opportunities."

source: http://www.azhttp.com/

TEMPE, Ariz. - A wide range of alternative and renewable energy technologies will be discussed at the Arizona Workshop on Renewable Energy, Nov. 17 to 19, at ASU’s Memorial Union on the Tempe campus.

The meeting will cover a wide range of renewable energy technologies, including solar cells, bioenergy, new materials and new ways to store energy. It also will cover technology commercialization, renewable energy education programs and social acceptance of these new technologies.

“Finding and developing sustainable forms of energy represents one of the greatest challenges we face today,” says Stephen Goodnick, ASU’s associate vice president of research and director of the Arizona Institute for Renewable Energy, one of the conference sponsors. “Energy is vital to our economy and our national security, not to mention the health of our planet.”

The aim of the Arizona Workshop on Renewable Energy is to highlight cutting edge research on new renewable sources of energy, to identify barriers to the deployment of renewable energy, and to address the educational needs of training the next generation workforce for an emerging renewable energy industry, added Goodnick.

Specific topics that will be covered include: biofuels from photosynthetic bacteria; holographic concepts and applications for solar energy systems; bio-inspired approaches to solar energy conversion; modeling and simulation of advanced materials for hydrogen storage; high efficiency multi-junction solar cells; renewable technology challenges from a utility perspective; public trust of novel energy systems; and architectural challenges for renewable energy. The workshop also includes sessions on renewable energy education, and the societal issues and impacts to the development of renewable energy.

In addition to the presentations, the conference will include poster sessions, tutorials and vendor exhibits. The meeting is sponsored by ASU’s Arizona Institute for Renewable Energy, the Global Institute of Sustainability, APS, Arizona Department of Commerce, City of Tempe, Green Fuel Solar, NanoVoltaix Inc. and Sol Equity.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Solar Inc. is probably the most exciting company in the solar power industry. It has remarkably low production costs, explosive growth and unique technology. Furthermore, this thin-film solar panel manufacturer is one of the first PV (photovoltaic, solar electric) companies to compete directly with the conventional energy industry.

The entire PV industry has been experiencing tremendous growth, and that growth is expected to continue. In select regions that have the right combination of high electricity prices and good financial incentives, solar electricity already competes with conventional household electricity. As expected cost reductions continue, the size of these markets will continue to grow.

According to Solar Annual 2008, a new report by PHOTON Consulting, by 2012, solar power may constitute 35% of all electric capacity additions, and thereby move from the fringe of the electricity sector to the mainstream.

This subject and more will be discussed as part of the Searching for ‘Second Solar’” Conference Series, a series of three conferences to be held in San Francisco on Dec. 2-4, 2008 by PHOTON Press, the world’s largest publisher specializing in solar energy, and the Boston-based consulting branch PHOTON Consulting.

PHOTON´s 1st PV Start-up Conference, Dec. 2, 2008

Just a few years ago, First Solar was of little importance. Today, hundreds of start-up companies in the PV industry are preparing for commercial production, many of which are based in California. The question is: Which manufacturer has the potential to become the second First Solar?

PHOTON´s 1st PV Thin-film Conference, Dec. 3, 2008

Are the most promising candidates for becoming the next First Solar to be found among thin-film manufacturers? Which of the hundreds of companies worldwide has the best starting position?

PHOTON´s 1st TECAF Conference, Dec. 4, 2008

As a whole, few people working in conventional energy companies have an appreciation for how quickly PV distributed on rooftops and open fields could make inroads in their regions by 2012. The economic challenges from displaced revenue, profits and possibly negative network effects combined with operational challenges and higher uncertainty all may combine to stress these companies beyond their ability to cope.

Deutsche Press-Agentur - July 17, 2008
Author: Andy Goldberg, dpa
San Francisco (dpa) - There's something incongruous about experts from normally cloudy Germany coming to California, the land of eternal sunshine, to teach the locals about how to harness solar power.

But that's was happening this week in San Francisco, where organizers of the world's largest solar exhibition, Germany's Intersolar, launched an American version of their confab amid predictions of a massive solar boom in the ailing US economy.

Conference chairman Professor Eicke Weber, director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, insists that it makes perfect sense for Germans to bring their solar accumen to the Golden State.

As soaring fuel costs combine with rapidly changing public perceptions about the dangers of climate change, the US embrace of solar power is at a tipping point, he predicts. Soon, the US will follow the massive investments already made in Europe in renewable energy, where thanks to strong government support the solar industry is years ahead of its American counterpart.

"Before, our only argument was the environment, but now with oil at 140 dollars a barrel, I think the much stronger argument will be the pocketbook," he says. "That's why I think solar energy will have a great future in the United States."

One indication of the gulf that separates the two continents is the size of their solar exhibitions. The German Intersolar has been growing at some 30 per cent a year. The recent Munich expo attracted more than 1,000 exhibitors and 50,000 attendees from 140 countries. In contrast, the San Francisco Intersolar has only 200 exhibitors and 12,000 attendees.

The major reason for the difference is the scope of government support, or the lack of it in the United States.

Under President George W Bush, a former oil company executive, the federal government until recently denied the science of climate change. Vice President Dick Cheney famously dismissed conservation as a meaningless personal virtue.

Though the US does offer homeowners a one-time, 2,000-dollar federal tax credit for the installation of photo-voltaic systems that convert solar energy into electricity, Weber argued that it needed a so-called feed-in tariff to really allow the sector to take off. Such a tariff offers energy producers a guaranteed price for energy that they feed into the grid from renewable sources, and was the key stimulus to boost the European solar sector.

But there are many other factors in play.

For instance, it's no coincidence that the conference is taking place in San Francisco. The city is the northern anchor of Silicon Valley, where an ever-increasing pool of venture capital and a growing number of start-ups are chasing the solar dream.

Many are already predicting a solar boom, akin to the dot-com boom that accompanied the rise of the internet. Some startups like NanoSolar and Solyndra are already valued at more than 1 billion dollars before they've ever made a profit, reflecting the huge growth potential that Wall Street sees in the solar field.

The comparisons to California's tech industry do not end there. Solar -cell production is a close cousin to the production of computer chips, and there is a constant exchange of personnel, techniques and equipment between the two sectors.

"Each time we double the volume of production, the cost goes down by 20 per cent," Weber said. "At the end of the day, it will be the least expensive energy of all. We just need a little help to ignite the revolution."

Dan Martin, who heads SemiCon West, a trade association of semiconductor manufacturers, believes the same dynamic - that dramatically reduced the price of computer chips while simultaneously increasing their power - will also characterize the solar voltaics sector.

"We are going to change the world," he said. "I've seen it happen before, and it will happen again."

The North America Photovoltaic Advanced Manufacturing Technology Conference will focus on the solutions, the manufacturing equipment, and technology that the industry is able to provide to the wafer, cell and module makers in order to become more competitive in the global energy market. Industry leaders will present their suggestions for improvements both for the fast developing thin-film as well as for bulk silicon production facilities. Different elements of the production process will be highlighted: integrated logistics and automation; quality control and traceability, (advanced) statistical process control [(A)SPC] and preventive maintenance. New technology breakthroughs will also be presented.