News

14 October 2008

 

SEMI and SolarTech partner to identify supply chain issues and develop standards

At the Solar Power International 2008 event, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) of San Jose, CA, USA, the global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chains for the microelectronic, display and photovoltaic industries, and SolarTech (a consortium of leaders in the solar industry formed by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group to reduce the barriers to solar) have announced a collaboration agreement that aims to benefit the US PV manufacturing supply chain (from equipment and materials suppliers through cell/module makers to installers of PV systems, city governments and utilities).

“This is an important local agreement that holds global implications for SolarTech and the SEMI membership,” says SEMI executive VP Dan Martin. “SEMI’s global reach will help SolarTech expand beyond the Silicon Valley, and this relationship will help SEMI members and their customers understand overarching supply chain issues and identify critical areas needing improvement,” he adds.

“The SolarTech mission is to increase the velocity of PV adoption by developing standards and best practices across the entire value chain,”says Doug Payne, SolarTech’s director of business operations. “SolarTech/SEMI collaboration expands the value we bring to our respective members, providing critical insight to companies from equipment manufacturer members to system integrators and permitting utilities.”

The memorandum of understanding signed by the groups will focus on the development of standards, especially at the deployment level, where the scope of SEMI Standards ends, and cell and module safety, performance, interconnection, installation and other standards are required. In addition, SEMI brings a diversified community to the collaboration that influences market development and the supply and demand curve worldwide.

SEMI white paper outlines vision for PV industry

The SEMI PV Group has published a white paper that details its future vision for the PV industry, presenting strategies that the industry can implement to help ensure sustainable and profitable growth. ‘The Perfect Industry - The Race to Excellence in Manufacturing’ describes the ideal industry characteristics for the high-growth PV industry and describes both current and potential SEMI policies, program and initiatives designed to achieve them.

The SEMI PV Group was established in January to enhance support to members serving the crystalline and thin-film photovoltaic supply chains. With the input and guidance of the SEMI board of directors and global and regional PV advisory committees in North America, Asia and Europe, the white paper was prepared to help members and other industry participants form a collective future vision for the industry and facilitate action plans around industry standards, market information, global advocacy, trade events, sustainable manufacturing practices, and other industry issues. By defining and communicating ideal or perfect industry end-states, equipment and materials suppliers along with cell and module manufacturers can more effectively prioritize industry-wide initiatives, says SEMI.

“The PV industry has decades of growth and progress ahead, and actions taken today can have long-term, positive benefits on the supply chain and the regions and customers we serve,” says Dan Martin, who is executive director of the PV Group. “Only by defining the type of industry we want, developing a set of shared priorities, and establishing processes necessary for industry-wide collaboration, can we hope to create the ideal future that will benefit PV group members, our customers, our countries, and the world,” he adds.

The white paper outlines four attributes of the perfect industry: long-term growth; sustained profitability; environmental excellence; and global scope. Each is examined to explain and understand their role in the industry’s formation, and to help understand and describe the necessary industry actions required to achieve the greatest impact. Current and potential SEMI policies, programs and initiatives that address each of these attributes are also discussed.

Search: PV

Visit: www.pvgroup.org/perfect

Visit: www.solartech.org

Visit: wwww.semi.org