The PV Summit is now history. I don’t know if actual history was made, but it was a thoroughly informative and well-organized conference. Kudos to IntertechPira, the organizers. They produce about 20 conferences a year, each focused on a rapidly-changing high tech industry.
Organizers Anneke Mueller and Laura Limoge snagged a number of luminaries for the PV summit, including Dr. Tom surek of Motech America, Dr. Jean Prosbic of BP Solar, and Paul Maycock of PV Energy. High profile executives from major players like SoloPower and SunEdison were there.
For my money, the most exciting news was the announcement by Richard Lewandowski of Prism Solar regarding their hologram-enabled photovoltaic array. I hadn't heard of this technology before and i was struck by the utter beauty and simplicity of the technology. Each panel has alternating strips of PV cells and transparent holographic plastic. The holograms concentrate a specific light spectrum on the PV cells for increased efficiency, but direct the infrared (heating) parts of the spectrum away from the cell. As a result the PV cells stay cooler and more efficient than regular concentrating PV cells.
