The second annual North American PV Fab Managers Forum, organized by SEMI in conjunction with Intersolar North America 2011 on July 11, will put the PV solar manufacturing supply chain in the US under the microscope.

by Bettina Weiss, executive director, SEMI PV Group

June 3, 2011 - If recent meetings with member companies on Capitol Hill are any indication, PV manufacturing in the US is at risk. Equipment and materials suppliers voiced their concern to members of the House and Senate over the possibility that some of the more meaningful incentives  -- the Manufacturing Tax Credit and the 1603(c) Grant in Lieu of Tax Credits  -- will not be extended. This, invariably, will lead at least some of them to consider manufacturing overseas, where tax holidays, land, and less expensive labor are easier to come by.

But there is more to manufacturing than policy. The second annual North American PV Fab Managers Forum, organized by SEMI in conjunction with Intersolar North America 2011 on July 11, will put the PV solar manufacturing supply chain in the US under the microscope. This year's theme is "thin film," focusing on CIGS and CdTe. The Forum will feature manufacturers, equipment and materials suppliers, and other contributors, before the backdrop of global and US thin-film market trends and developments -- and yes, some policy. Cost drivers, efficiency barriers, and supply-chain wide dialogue around shared challenges are issues of great importance and interest, and we are pleased to kick off the big week in San Francisco with such a meaty conference.

Participating companies include NREL, Lazard Capital, Stion, First Solar, the SEMATECH-led PV Manufacturing Consortium, Oerlikon and DuPont, just to name a few. Don't miss it! For more information and to register, please visit: http://www.semiconwest.org/node/6521 or contact Bettina Weiss at bweiss@semi.org.