As the world gears itself to tackle global warming through pledges at COP21, the Asia-Pacific region looks keenly into renewable energy technologies that will not only reduce carbon emissions, but also reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and eradicate energy poverty in the region. Driven by government initiatives, scientific-technical progress and public enthusiasm, the cost of solar power has been reduced by 70% since 2010, making solar electricity one of the pillars of the transformation of the global energy systems towards sustainability.
Scientific progress in the field of photovoltaics (PV) for the region is supported by institutes like the Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia, and many others.
Given the need for an Asia-Pacific platform for scientists to share and discuss their research results and to groom PV experts in the region, the Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference (PVSEC) was established in 1984 in Kobe, Japan and has since evolved into Asias biggest scientific-technical PV conference. Since 2006, the PVSEC conference series has been held internationally, moving to guest countries and cities that are highly committed to research, development and deployment of PV technologies.
As a solar leader in Southeast Asia, SERIS is organising the 26th edition of PVSEC in Singapore this year (PVSEC-26). This is the first time that the PVSEC conference comes to Singapore, and it will be held in conjunction with the Singapore International Energy Week 2016 (SIEW 2016) at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. The PVSEC-26 conference is co-organised by the Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N) and the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS), with support from regional industry players like Renewable Energy Corporation (REC), Sunseap, Heraeus, and Meyer Burger.
PVSEC-26 has received more than 650 abstract submissions from over 30 countries. The conference programme encompasses the full range of PV topics, including the fabrication, characterisation and simulation of PV materials, cells, modules and systems, the testbedding and reliability of PV systems, as well as smart grids, to name a few. The Conference features invited and contributed talks as well as poster sessions and panel discussions. The invited speakers are globally recognised experts in their respective fields.
Solar PV technology has long been touted as one of the top contenders for developing renewable energy technologies in the world. At the end of 2015, the solar energy capacity installed in the Asia-Pacific region exceeded 75 gigawatts (GW), highlighting an explosive growth since 2010 when the region hosted merely 1 GW of PV installations. PV deployment in Singapore is also accelerating and will soon exceed 100 MW.
The Singapore government has been providing significant support for renewables in recent years, enabling industry leaders like REC to establish their manufacturing base in Singapore, and creating an industry supply chain in Southeast Asia. Also, government agencies like the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), the National Research Foundation (NRF), the National Environment Agency (NEA), the Public Utilities Board (PUB), the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) all actively support initiatives to promote the use of solar energy, ensuring that the share of renewables in the city-states energy mix keeps increasing.
These developments were achieved largely due to progress in the areas of solar cell technologies, PV module manufacturing, PV system deployment, grid integration and PV policies and financing. In order to facilitate knowledge exchange in these areas, PVSEC-26 aims to bring together students, scientists, engineers, industry experts and policy makers to discuss technological, financial and infrastructural progress of their respective organisations and countries.
