Can Solar Energy be Cost Competitive Within 3 Years in Major Markets?

MUNICH, Germany and ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands, February 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The growth of the international photovoltaic solar (PV) energy industry in 2008 was more than 70%. The global PV market grew with more than 45% and exceeded 20 billion dollars in value. Solar energy has a bright future. But what might be the impact of the current financial crisis, according to the CEOs of the world's leading PV companies? And what do the Wall Street experts say about the plummeted solar stocks? What will be the major players and markets in the near future? Will thin-film technology outpace crystalline silicon solar as the most cost competitive technology? The international CEO conference 'The Solar Future' on 26th of May in Munich (Germany) and organized by SolarPlaza, will provide answers to these and more questions.

At the end of 2008, still new solar module manufacturers entered the market. At the same time, the oversupply, enhanced by the financial and economic crisis, caused a significant drop in module prices. Good news for the customers, but maybe less attractive for the industry. Will the market face a consolidation wave? Leading crystalline technology manufacturers like Suntech Power, Sharp and Q-cells are investing in thin-film technologies. Can we expect a shift in the dominant solar technology? Who will be the winners in the future that is predicted to be very prosperous?

Nowadays, the global solar energy market still depends on government incentives. Anton Milner of the world's leading cell manufacturer Q-Cells and other CEOs will speak about a future market without government incentives. Leading (financial) experts will give their view and forecasts on the industry and market dynamics. 2009 might show lower growth figures for the global PV market than 2008. Can the industry survive the financial crisis and a likely oversupply? On the other hand, the decreasing module price will lead to grid-parity sooner. At that point, when the cost of solar energy for customers equals the cost of electricity from the grid, the market potential will become unlimited. Can we reach this Walhalla in 3 years? And where first according to the market leaders?

The Solar Future conference will offer the leading platform for high-level networking and everybody interested to learn about the next big global industry. An industry that will create more than 50 billion dollars of yearly revenue in 2012. The event takes place just before the start of the world's largest PV exhibition Intersolar in Munich. Registration can be done on http://www.thesolarfuture.com.

Solarplaza provides a leading global PV industry portal (http://www.solarplaza.com) and previously organized 12 international PV trade missions and PV expert conferences in Spain, Germany, California, China, Italy, Greece and Taiwan.