Conference Side Events

• Seminar „meeting the challenges of the GigaWatt fab“
  
  One area critical to the successful growth of thin film PV man-ufacture is that of managing the supply of direct materials such as glass, gases and chemicals. For example in a typical thin film process, gases represent up to 20 % of the BOM.
  
  As industry moves towards gigawatt scale PV projects, the role of  direct material suppliers becomes more critical than ever due to the huge scale. Extended supply chains might not be capable of keeping up with demand, and many materials will need to move to an on-site production model. Material reduc-tion strategies will need to be aggressively developed and in some cases recycling will also become a viable option, espe-cially for gases. Additionally corresponding engineering, safety and permitting challenges will emerge.
  
  A joint public seminar along with a discussion round between a major glass manufacturer, a fab construction company and provider of technical gases will characterise these issues, touch problems and suggest possible solutions.
  
  Day:  Tuesday, 2nd September
  Time:  13:30 – 16:45
  Site:  Sala de Conferencias 4F / Conference Center
  
  
  
• Grid Parity and Beyond -  Workshop organized by  IEA PVPS
  
  ‘Grid Parity and Beyond’ is a joint workshop of different IEA PVPS projects (Tasks 1, 8 and 10) and will look at the issues remaining for sustainable market deployment of PV as it moves towards matching the price of retail electricity (price parity) and onwards towards competitiveness with centralized power generation.
  
  It is widely predicted that within a matter of years rather than decades the price of electricity produced by PV systems will achieve parity with retail electricity prices in many OECD countries. Although this will not mean an overnight change in the landscape – there will be variations between countries and also between electricity customer groups within a country – some interesting general questions arise, including:
  
  Will other barriers to deployment, yet to be addressed or  -resolved by existing support programmes, continue to dampen the development of sustainable markets for PV?
  
  In particular, how will a massive deployment of PV interact with the business of running an electricity network?What does the future look like for direct and indirect public  -support policies for PV installation and electricity produc-tion as PV becomes ‘competitive’?  What roles might the electricity utility take in future PV de- -ployment?
  
  The workshop will address this ‘hot’ topic by involvement of key experts from different countries.
  
  Day:  Thursday, 4th September
  Time:  08:30 – 12:10
  Site:  Sala de Conferencias 3F + 3G / Conference Center