direct/ WIP-Renewable Energies: Solar Energy Experts from all over the World meet at Europe´s Biggest Specialist Conference

21st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and ExhibitionDresden, 4-8 September 2006

The Prime Minister of Saxony, Prof. Dr. Georg Milbradt, welcomes scientists, industry representatives and politicians from 93 countries to the world´s leading solar energy conference and exhibition

Becquerel Prize for Outstanding Merits in Photovoltaics to be awarded by the European Commission

Dresden, 04.09.2006 - On 4th September, the European solar energy conference EU PVSEC will open its doors for the 21st time. Around 2,500 scientists, industry representatives and politicians from all over the world will be coming to Dresden to discuss latest developments in solar energy generation. Rising oil prices, doubts about the lasting availability of fossil fuels and the importance of climate protection have all contributed to increasing interest in renewable energy sources. The European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, which is supported by various bodies including UNESCO, the European Commission and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, is regarded as the world´s leading platform for the transfer between research and industry.

Dr. Jozef Poortmans, Program Director Photovoltaics at the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC) in Leuven, Belgium, will be opening the conference in Dresden today. In his opening speech Dr. Poortmans, who has successfully headed numerous European projects over the last ten years, will be discussing the enormously increased speed of innovation and the transfer between science and industry. In Japan, photovoltaics has a long tradition and the sector continues to grow apace. In Europe, many countries have adopted Germany´s Renewable Energy Sources Act as the model for their own national programmes. In the USA too, interest in photovoltaics is significantly increasing.

In the words of Poortman´s speech: "Industry has taken up the challenge and these measures have created a large momentum within the sector resulting in rapid market growth, new job creation and the accelerated introduction of new and advanced technologies." Last year, worldwide turnover of the photovoltaics industry amounted to around 5.8 billion Euro.

With regard to technical progress, Poortmans sees parallels to the development of computers. "Traditionally, one can observe in the micro- and nanoelectronics sector a rapid transfer of newly developed technologies from the lab environment to the industrial application. This is enabled by the basic and broad consensus between the different actors in the sector on a roadmap describing the way ahead. In photovoltaics we can withness a similar trend. The improved interplay between PV-industry, equipment manufacturers and R&D-centers results in an accelerated reduction of crystalline silicon solar cell thickness and the introduction of novel cell technologies to obtain a higher efficiency from these cells. Both these factors should bring about a faster reduction of the costs of solar electricity based on crystalline silicon", says Dr. Poortmans.

At the same time extremely thin, large-surface solar cells are being built in research institutions today. "We see numerous industrial thin-film solar cell initiatives popping up supported by steady progress in efficiencies, improved material understanding and advanced and in-line characterization techniques. Last but not least, nanotechnological features are showing up more and more in a PV-context which will allow PV to exceed the traditional efficiency limits," explains Dr. Poortmans.

At the opening ceremony, welcome and introductory speeches will also be given by:
- Anastassios Nerantzis, Member of the Council of Ministers and Deputy Minister for Development, Greece
- Michael Müller, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
- Setsuo Iuchi, Policy Planning Director of Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Dept. of METI, Japan
- Michael Eckhart, President American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), USA
- Dr. Winfried Hoffmann, President of EPIA, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, and Chief Representative of SCHOTT Solar
- Dr. Herrmann Scheer, Member of the German Parliament, Winner of the alternative Nobel Prize
- Dr. Wolfgang Palz, Chairman Europe of WCRE-World Council for Renewable Energy
- Dr. Wim Sinke, ECN, EU PV Technology Platform
- Dr. Heinz Ossenbrink, Head of the Renewable Energy Department, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, European Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy

A highlight of this year´s EU PVSEC will be the presentation of the Becquerel Prize. With this prize, which was first awarded in 1989, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the photovoltaic effect by the Frenchman, Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel, the European Commission honours outstanding merits in photovoltaics. The winner of the 14th Becquerel Prize is Dr. Richard M. Swanson who was chosen by an international panel of researchers and previous Becquerel Prize winners for his groundbreaking work on the development of high-efficiency silicon solar cells.

Dr. Swanson, who earned a PhD from Stanford University in 1974, worked in research for over two decades before he founded SunPower Corporation in 1991. SunPower solar cells recently powered NASA´s high altitude solar powered airplane, Helios, to 96,500 feet, a record altitude for any non-rocket aircraft. The award speech will be made by Professor Antonio Luque from Madrid´s Unversidad Politécnica. Professor Luque, who is the founder of the Spanish company, Isofoton, one of the world´s ten biggest photovoltaics companies, was himself awarded the Becquerel Prize in 1992.

In his speech which ends the opening ceremony, Dr. Heinz Ossenbrink, Technical Programme Chairman of the conference will address how the conference programme reflects latest developments in research and industrial application.

At the conclusion of the opening ceremony, Professor Dr. Georg Milbradt, Prime Minister of the Federal State of Saxony, will officially open the conference and exhibition at 12:30 p.m. Over the course of five days, the conference will host around 1,000 presentations on the latest developments in photovoltaics. Running parallel to the conference is the world´s biggest industrial photovoltaics exhibition. Around 400 exhibitors from 29 countries will show their research findings, new production methods and new products in the area of solar energy generation. Hosting 2,500 participants from 93 countries, the conference is completely booked up.

The EU PVSEC 2006 is supported by the UNESCO, the World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE), the European Commission, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA), the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the German Solar Industry Association (BSW e.V.) and the City of Dresden.

Further Information about the 21st EU PVSEC:
www.photovoltaic-conference.com

Press Inquiries and Accreditation:
Press Office 21st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition
c/o York Communications GmbH
Ulrich L. Schneppel
Phone +49-761-48080-44
Fax +49-761-48080-55
eu-pvsec2006@york-communications.de

Onsite press office:
Phone +49-351-4458-174

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