Conference and Exhibition Attendance Records Exceed Expectations

San Francisco, CA, July 15, 2010 – Intersolar North America, the premier exhibition for solar professionals to exchange information and develop business opportunities in the U.S. solar market, continued to see strong growth for the third straight year with the 2010 exhibition and conference. The co-located Intersolar North America and SEMICON West events, which took place this week in San Francisco, presented more than 700 solar exhibitors to more than 20,000 trade visitors This year, Intersolar North America alone featured 580 exhibitors up from 444 exhibitors in 2009.

Intersolar North America continued its long-standing international focus with trade visitors representing 66 countries and exhibiting companies from 26 countries, reflecting the global perspectives of the solar industry.

"Intersolar North America's continued growth over the last three years is an excellent sign for the solar market," said Markus Elsaesser, CEO of Solar Promotion International GmbH, exhibition and conference organizer. "The discussions and sharing of information that occurred during the week made it clear that the overall global solar industry has a very positive outlook."

While many attended the exhibition, the Intersolar North America conference and accompanying programs were a key attraction for more than 2,500 attendees. The conference portion featured more than 250 speakers, up from 170 speakers in 2009, who presented at over 30 conference tracks.

From a technical perspective, both "Crystalline Silicon" tracks provided attendees with a discussion around new technological concepts and processes designed to increase cell efficiency and still lower production costs, as well as presentations on advanced crystalline silicon module and system technologies. Highlights included presentations on "The Future of High Efficiency Technology," High Efficiency and Low Cost – Current Trends and Developments," and "New Frontiers for Low Concentration CPV."

During the extensive session, "Utilities Forum – Policy, Technology, Project Development, Finance and Insurance," the focus was placed on the issues related to political framework conditions, project execution and financing. Well-known solar professionals from GTM Research, California Center for Sustainable Energy, and California Public Utilities Commission gave talks on "Trends in the U.S. Utility PV Market," "The Value of PV Electricity at Grid-Parity," and "The Role of Cities in Advancing the Adoption of Solar."

As worldwide solar markets have proven, the solar industry clearly creates jobs. As the U.S. market matures, demand for solar jobs will also increase. The on-site Job & Career Forum was designed to support the growing creation of solar jobs. Throughout the three-day event, the forum was utilized by hundreds of visitors and exhibiting companies.

Throughout Intersolar North America, companies and individual solar professionals were recognized for their innovative achievements at events including the Solar For All Design Contest awards ceremony, Intersolar AWARD Hall of Fame and the NorCal City/County Awards ceremony.

"We are extremely excited about the growth of Intersolar North America," said Klaus W. Seilnacht, CEO of FMMI and Intersolar North America co-organizer. "As we move forward, we look forward to continuing our partnerships with SEMI PV Group, CALSEIA and others, to provide a place where solar professionals can come together and learn from each other."