Martin Green, the 'father of modern photovoltaics', will share his insight with attendees to the event. Provided to China Daily

More than 2,200 solar power technology companies from around the globe will gather in Shanghai for the world's largest photovoltaic power expo, which is scheduled to open on May 16.

Covering a total exhibition area of 200,000 square meters, the sixth SNEC International Photovoltaic Power Generation Conference & Exhibition will be held from May 16-18 in the Shanghai New International Exhibition Center.

Companies and other entities from 90 different countries will hold exhibits that cover the whole industry value chain, including solar panels and modules, equipment and material for producing solar cells, as well as solar power projects and systems.

The expo provides an opportunity for foreign and domestic experts and entrepreneurs to feel the pulse of the world solar power industry and observe changes in the international market firsthand.

This conference is known as the "Photovoltaic Davos of the East" by industry insiders.

A number of the world's top solar power experts will attend the conference to share their insights into the industry's latest development trends.

One of the keynote speakers at the event will be Martin Green, the executive research director of the ARC Photovoltaics Center of Excellence at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Green has been called "the father of modern photovoltaics".

Other speakers also include Reinhold Buttgereit, secretary-general of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association; Rhone A. Resch, chairman and CEO of the Solar Industry Association (SEIA); Charles Gay, president of Applied Solar at Applied Materials Inc, chairman of the Applied Solar Council and co-founder of the Foundation of Green Star; and Konaga Yinari, chairman of the Japan Solar Energy Society and professor of the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

For the three-day conference, the organizers have received a total of 100 papers and invited 150 experts to deliver speeches at eight sessions.

Other interesting discussions will include the Solar Leaders Summit and the Million Solar Roofs Initiative.

The three main topics of this event are science and technology advancement in photovoltaic power generation, integration and application of photovoltaic power generation, and government policy guidance for the industry.

Topics on how to achieve sustainable development, regulate the market, and protect the interests of the PV industry will be discussed at this conference. Representatives from Asia, the European Union, and North America will agree on a declaration, which may be called "Shanghai Declaration" of the Global PV Industry.

It is estimated that about 200,000 visitors - around one third of whom are professionals - have registered to attend. A great number of government officials and visitors from the electronics, machinery, real estate development, design and construction industries will also participate in the event.

Anyone who is interested in attending the conference can log onto the official website www.snec.org.cn for registration.

Prospective attendees can also visit the exhibition by registering on-site and submitting two business cards to receive a visitor badge for free.

Visitors can also log onto the SNEC website to make pre-registration and pick up the visitor badge upon arrival to visit the show for free.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/17/2012 page17)