Editors’ Picks for Intersolar North America

It’s almost as if the weather knows. With only a few days to go before Intersolar North America kicks off, the prediction is for four sunny days in a row from Monday to Thursday next week. So be sure to step outside of the Moscone Center every now and again to bask in the sunshine in between booth visits, conferences and networking.

Intersolar North America is expected to draw crowds of over 22,000 visitors to this year’s event. And with more than 800 exhibitors registered to attend and populate the 174,000 square-foot exhibition halls, there is no doubt that the organizers’ 2011 event will be hugely popular.

The exhibition runs from Tuesday to Thursday, both inclusive, while the conference itself  (to be held in the InterContinental Hotel San Francisco) begins on Monday. The conference boasts over 200 speakers, with more than 1,600 delegates expected to turn up to hear the latest views, opinions and hard facts about the global PV industry – and to try and determine where it’s going in the future.

While there is a wealth of exhibitors, conferences and after-parties to visit – our favourite of which are listed below – one event in particular will be sure to draw a crowd as it did at Intersolar Europe this year. EuPD Research’s Joint Forces for Solar initiative and 3rd US PV Briefing & Networking Forum will take place on July 12, 3.30 to 6.00pm in the Moscone Center’s West Hall, Level 2, and speakers will focus on bringing together installers with the major global players in the industry to form a joint effort to dispel the myths surrounding solar.

You can find several of our team at the Photovoltaics International booth, number 8504. As always, we welcome visitors to the booth, and will be well stocked with several of our publications, including the free Photovoltaics International Lite. Be sure to drop by to get your reduced-price copy of Manufacturing the Solar Future: the 2011 PV Production Annual, which will cost only US$65 instead of the usual online price of US$74.

Enjoy the show!

Editors’ Picks for Intersolar North America

Schneider Electric will present its full solar solutions service range from the panel DC output to grid connection, as well as system monitoring and supervision, at Booth 7510. Schneider’s global product manager Andrew Riegler will be a speaker at the Intersolar North America conference session on Series Balance of Systems – Tracking of PV Strings: Toward Optimal Harvest Efficiency and Maximum ROI, on July 13 at the InterContinental Hotel, Level 3 from 12:10–12:35pm.

Konica Minolta Sensing Americas will be introducing the all-new Technology Test Drive Program at InterSolar North America 2011 at the company’s booth, number 5320. In addition to unveiling the program, the company will be showcasing its full line of photovoltaic measuring instruments, including AK-Series Reference Cells, Soma Spectroradiometer, Sunrise Software and San-Ei Solar Simulator.

American Electric Technologies, Inc. (AETI) will present the world’s first 1MW 1000V Integrated Solar Inversion Station, the ISIS. The ISIS is said to enable higher returns on investment for utility-scale project developers, financiers and EPCs. AETI will be displaying its product range, including the ISIS, at booth number 5453.

Singulus’s Vitrum Gen 2 tool will be on display at Singulus’s booth, number 9335. Claimed to be the only tool on the market that cleans both the thin-film cell’s rear side and edges in a single step without harming the active layers, the tool is said to protect the active layer by use of process hoods and performs pencil and rear side etching with brushes and chemicals.

Pall Corporation is planning to present its new silane gas purification system and other contamination control products for the PV industry at the Intersolar North America exhibition, booth number 9039. Products on show will include the Gaskleen PG44000 purification system, Gaskleen purifier assemblies as well as the company’s fully automatic water reclaim system.

Enecsys will be showcasing its new solar microinverters that have been certified to the UL1741 certification, as well as its new iPhone app that is designed to give comprehensive real-time and historical monitoring of solar PV system performance for installers and homeowners. The company will have its two new Duo microinverters on display – the 360W and 480W models – at its booth, number 5447.