Italian PV Summit 2011: photovoltaics’ post-incentive era beckons

Speakers include world’s top 10 PV companies
Exclusive presentation of EPIA study on prospects for grid parity
Event programme now available online

Verona, 2-3 May 2011

Feltre, Italy, 11 March 2011 – As solar PV becomes a commoditized market, what are the implications for profit margins? What’s the forecast for prices on international markets? Is Italy likely to reach grid parity? These are some of the questions to which more than 50 speakers will be offering their answers during the 10 sessions of the Italian PV Summit, an event that seeks to shed light on some of the most pressing questions facing the industry both in Italy and globally.

The third edition of the Italian PV Summit will be held on 2 and 3 May in the prestigious setting of the Palazzo della Gran Guardia, Verona, Italy. The two-day conference is considered a must-attend event by industry players, the international financial community and anyone wishing to understand development trends in the PV sector and market forecasts for the coming years.

The Italian PV Summit is made possible thanks to the support of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) and sponsorship by First Solar, Santerno, LDK, Yingli Solar, BP Solar, Fimer, BFP, Mx Group, ME Making Energy and Siemens. The event will be chaired by Ingmar Wilhelm, EPIA president and executive vice president of Enel Green Power.

The CEOs of the most important solar PV companies worldwide feature among the speakers in the Italian PV Summit programme, along with authoritative sector experts, including: Ole Enger, chairman & CEO of REC Group; Shigeaki Kameda, CEO of Solar Frontier; Xiaofeng Peng, chairman & CEO of LDK Solar; Robert Gillette, CEO of First Solar; Richard Swanson, founder & chairman of SunPower; Winfried Hoffmann, vice president of EPIA; Jochen Hauff, manager & expert at the global sustainability program of A.T. Kearney; Thomas Grigoleit, director, renewable energies & resources at Germany Trade and Invest; Rhone Resch, chairman & CEO, United States Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA); Tom Wu, general secretary, Taiwan Photovoltaic Industry Association (TPVIA); Michael Sargent, director of the Australian Solar Institute (ASI); Oded Distel, director of Israel New Tech – Agency of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor; Dipuo Peters of the South African ministry of energy. The detailed programme is available online at www.italianpvsummit.com.

“The Italian PV Summit coincides with a critical moment for the photovoltaic sector,” commented Luca Zingale, organiser of the Summit and director of the Solarexpo Research Unit. “We’re at the dawn of a new era, when the winners and losers of the PV industry will be decided. This event will shed light on what will be the trends and market tendencies in coming years. These two days will help market participants and the financial community to see beyond today’s events and to understand the fundamental dynamics that should underpin their businesses and investments.”

Highlights from the Italian PV Summit programme for 2011:

GLOBAL OUTLOOK

PV as a commodity: a new business scenario
PV competing in the power generation sector: the industrial costs roadmap, the vision of global PV players
Short-term outlook for international PV markets: a further plunge in prices?
The status of the world PV industry and R&D: country focuses on USA, Taiwan, Australia, Israel
The “German model”: strategic options for the green economy, sustainable support schemes for solar energy

ITALY OUTLOOK

Achieving grid parity: Italy on the forefront - the most recent analyses
Dynamics of the second PV market worldwide, from the unprecedented boom of 2010 to the new feed-in scheme
Bankability of solar plants, investments in new production capacity: the financing climate for PV
Key boundary conditions for growth: progress in streamlining the permitting & grid access process
Efficient production scale, vertical integration, internationalisation: competitiveness issues for the Italian PV industry