The world's largest exhibition for the solar industry and its partners gets underway

Munich, June 19, 2013 – Today, the doors to the world's largest exhibition for the solar industry reopened at Messe München. The event launched at 9:00am with the official ribbon cutting ceremony, attended by Jürgen Trittin, Chairman of the German Parliamentary Group Alliance 90/The Greens, Greg Barker, British Minister of State at the Department of Energy & Climate Change, and Jürgen Becker, State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). More than 1,300 exhibitors from 47 countries are presenting their products, solutions and services in the fields of photovoltaics (PV), PV production technologies, energy storage systems and solar thermal technologies until June 21 at Intersolar Europe, where for the first time, energy storage systems have their own dedicated exhibition segment in hall B5. A total of more than 200 exhibitors have registered for this category, making Intersolar Europe the largest platform for the combination of photovoltaics and energy storage systems worldwide. This year, more than 50,000 visitors are expected to make the journey to the exhibition, which covers 121,000 square meters of exhibition space across 12 halls and an outdoor exhibition area. The Intersolar Europe Conference takes place in parallel from June 17–20, 2013, and boasts approximately 400 speakers. The organizers are expecting around 2,000 attendees to take part in the conference and its side events. The areas of focus of this year's conference and exhibition are topics affecting the future of the sector, such as energy storage systems and the on-site consumption of solar power for private households and industry. However, this year also sees the spotlight being shone on new business models for photovoltaics, as well as the efficient grid integration of solar power.

This year, 53 per cent of exhibitors at Intersolar Europe are from abroad – from a total of 47 countries. Germany is home to 608 of the exhibitors, followed by China with 242, Italy with 59, Austria with 40 and Spain with 29 companies.

The exhibition was opened at 9:00am today with a traditional ribbon cutting ceremony, attended by Jürgen Trittin, Chairman of the German Parliamentary Group Alliance 90/The Greens, Greg Barker, British Minister of State at the Department of Energy & Climate Change, and Jürgen Becker, State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), in addition to the organizers of Intersolar Europe. This was followed by an exhibition tour, in which the politicians also participated, and Intersolar Europe's inaugural event (General Session), which took place at 10:15am and was dedicated to the topic of "nergy Transition today. Jürgen Trittin and experts from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), Freiburg, and the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar), Berlin, examined the current status and future of the energy transition, and discussed the role of solar energy from the perspective of politics, research and industry associations. Another part of the inaugural event open to all visitors was the panel discussion entitled Introduction of Protective Tariffs on Chinese Solar Modules in Europe, which saw a controversial topic being tackled at an early stage of the exhibition.

Energy storage systems, on-site consumption and new business models at Intersolar Europe

To date, feed-in tariffs were the greatest incentive for investing in solar power. However, increasing electricity prices, tumbling feed-in tariffs and falling module prices are resulting in the on-site consumption of self-generated solar power for industry and households becoming increasingly attractive. The on-site consumption market requires installers, planners and developers to acquire specialist knowledge, something which Intersolar Europe is aiming to provide on a significant level this year.

In light of this, the presentations taking place this year as part of the PV ENERGY WORLD special exhibit in hall B5 focus on the topics of on-site consumption and energy storage systems. In addition, 2013 sees a separate exhibition segment in hall B5 being dedicated to energy storage systems for the first time. A total of more than 200 exhibitors have registered for this category, making Intersolar Europe the largest platform for the combination of photovoltaics and energy storage systems worldwide.

Community energy cooperatives and municipal utilities as a driving force behind the energy transition

Community energy cooperatives are gaining increasing popularity by financing solar installations. In Germany, there are currently around 700 community energy cooperatives, in which more than 100,000 citizens help to finance the energy transition from the grassroots level with around €800 million. Many municipal utilities are also already using the energy transition as an opportunity to gain a leading role in the market as regional suppliers of renewable energy.

Visitors can also discover all current developments in these areas by attending the PV ENERGY WORLD presentation program or taking part in exhibition workshops and tours. Against this backdrop, on June 18, the Intersolar Europe Conference dedicated a double session to this topic entitled New Business Models for the PV Industry.

This year's accompanying program to Intersolar Europe

For the sixth year running, the Intersolar AWARD is paying tribute to the industry's innovative strength. The prize is being awarded in the categories of Photovoltaics, Solar Thermal Technologies and, for the first time, Solar Projects in Europe. In total, this year saw more than 100 companies apply for the renowned solar industry innovation prize. The winners are being announced during an official ceremony at Intersolar Europe's Innovation Exchange in hall B2, booth B2.450 at 4:30pm on June 19, 2013.

The special exhibit PV and E-Mobility in the outdoor exhibition area of Messe München looks at mobile energy storage with electric vehicles and shines the spotlight on the latest carport solutions, charging stations and electric vehicles themselves. To complete the program, participants are able to experience the future of mobility by test driving an electric vehicle.

In addition, workshops, exhibition tours and further special exhibits extend what is on offer at Intersolar Europe 2013. This includes the special exhibit entitled Rural Electrification, which is run by the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar), Berlin, and is devoted to power supply in the world's remote regions. During 15-minute presentations over the course of the three days, exhibitors showcase mobile charging devices or solar lamps, as well as PV hybrid systems and telecommunication systems or report on experiences gained from projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The Intersolar Europe Conference

The Intersolar Europe Conference takes place in parallel to Intersolar Europe from June 17–20, 2013 in the ICM – Internationales Congress Center München. The conference picks up and consolidates the topics of the exhibition and is the platform for some 400 speakers and 2,000 attendees to discuss the latest trends, state-of-the-art applications and the future of international markets.

In addition to the important topics of energy storage systems and global growth strategies, the conference focuses on assessing new markets, technologies and business models in the industry, as well as the current political framework conditions in Europe and the role of national and international industrial policies. On June 19, attention is turned to market developments in the MENA region. The challenges created by the rising share of solar power in the power grids are discussed on June 20 at the German forum covering the EU project, PV GRID.

In addition, a total of seven conference sessions address the topic of solar thermal technologies. On the morning of June 20, international developments brought about by electricity from solar thermal power stations (CSP) come to the fore. Other sessions expand on the key topics of large-scale solar thermal plants, heat storage, industrial process heat and heating and air conditioning in buildings using solar thermal technologies.

Intersolar Europe 2013 takes place from June 19–21 at Messe München.

Further information on Intersolar Europe can be found at www.intersolar.de

Partners of Intersolar Europe

Intersolar Europe is supported by the leading solar industry associations: the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) as an exclusive partner, the German Solar Energy Society (DGS), the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF), the International Solar Energy Society (ISES), the SEMI PV Group, and VDMA-PV, the platform for photovoltaic production equipment within the German Engineering Association, with the support of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA).

About Intersolar

With over 3,000 exhibitors and 100,000 visitors spanning four continents, Intersolar is the world's leading exhibition series for the solar industry and its partners. It unites people and companies from around the world with the aim of increasing the share of solar power in our energy supply.

Intersolar Europe takes place annually at Messe München. It is the world's largest exhibition for the solar industry and its partners. In 2012, 1,909 international exhibitors and 66,000 trade visitors attended Intersolar Europe. The exhibition focuses on the areas of photovoltaics, PV production technologies, energy storage and solar thermal technologies. Since its founding, it has become the most important industry platform for manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, service providers and partners of the solar industry. The accompanying Intersolar Europe Conference consolidates the topics of the exhibition. In 2012, more than 400 speakers and around 2,000 attendees discussed current industry topics and shed light on the background of technological, market and political developments.