Dear members and friends,

You are cordially invited to attend a Solar Seminar held by Clean Tech Group of CIE/USA-SF with ITRI International, information as below:

       Date: May 8 , 2012 (Tuesday) 7:00 - 9:00 pm (registration starts at 6:30pm)
       Venue: ITRI Int'l, 2870 Zanker Rd., Suite #140, San Jose, CA
       Admission: Free (Complimentary light dinner is sponsored by ITRI)

Dr. Hao Lee will give us the first talk: "Innovation can be a long road: What we learned from Solyndra's failure and success in CIGS technology". The second talk by Mr. Mike Balma on"Solar Industry Trends and a Vision of Solar as an Asset Class".

Live broadcast to several researchers and management working on Solar projects at ITRI, Taiwan HQ will be conducted in the same time. Don't miss out networking, exchanging your views with other attendees, also have a quick video chats with groups of researchers from Taiwan.

MAKE it a GREAT evening!

Best regards,
CleanTech Group of CIE/USA-SF (formerly CARES)


Talk Title: Innovation can be a long road: What we learned from Solyndra's failure and success in CIGS technology - by Dr. Hao Lee

Abstract: Solyndra developed its own equipment, processes for CIGS technology on tubes. It got to commercialization in 2 years. Within 3 years, Solyndra completed 2 factories. In 2010, it reached 100MW capability, became the world largest CIGS manufacturer at the time. For its 2nd factory, it achieved 150MW capability in 9 months from an empty building. Solyndra's factory is fully automated and for 100MW used less than 100 workers. On Solydra's production lines, it routinely achieves better than 12% conversion efficiency and better than 85% yield.

Yet, Solyndra announced in September 2011 to stop its production.

Dr. Lee will use this opportunity to share Solyndra success in CIGS technology and manufacturing. We will ponder on the reasons for its failures and guide us in future innovations.

Bio for Dr. Hao Lee
Hao Lee, PhD in Physics. Ex-Solyndra Sr. Manager. Dr. Lee has many years of CIGS technology development, production management, planning and operational experience. IN Solyndra, oversaw all front end processes. Responsible for achieving up to 14% conversion efficiency on production line and 18% in lab. Before Solyndra, Dr. Lee worked at leading technical roles at a number of VC backed startup in US, Novaux, UltraDots, Xponent. Dr. Lee won the Award from the Materials Research Society (MRS) for his graduate works. Dr. Lee has seven U.S. patents and more than 30 academic papers in Science, and other well-known journal.

Talk Title: Solar Industry Trends and a Vision of Solar as an Asset Class - by Mr. Mike Balma

Abstract: Solar Industry trends such as the historical and projected growth of Solar PV will be presented as well as estimates for grid parity for various locations. The cost of capital for solar is higher than other industries and this is a significant inhibitor to solar adoption. Mike will discuss the reasons for this disparity and review current financial innovations for residential, commercial and utility scale deployments. He will discuss the potential for developing solar as an investment asset class that could reduce the cost of capital and accelerate development. He will also highlight steps that can help make this vision a reality based on his work with SolarTech. Mike will also highlight an innovative business model for cost effectively delivering solar for homeowners with low electricity bills.

Bio for Mr. Mike Balma
Mike is a renewable energy consultant. He worked extensively with Skyline Solar, a Mountain View company that offers integrated concentrating solar PV systems to commercial and utility customers. Mike is a board member for SunWork Renewable Energy Projects, a nonprofit organization that installs solar electricity systems on small-energy-footprint homes with the help of trained volunteers.

Mike is a Performance Committee Program Manager for SolarTech, a nonprofit solar industry association that works to reduce the barriers to solar adoption. He drove the creation of the Solar Energy Estimate Report program that offers a free web service. He also delivers solar workshops for residence of numerous Bay Area cities.

Mike also worked for SRI International, consulting on the technology and economics of renewable energy including solar and wind.

Mike had an extensive marketing career with Hewlett-Packard including helping build HP's open source business to over a billion dollars. He has a Chemical Engineering degree from Northwestern University and an MBA from Stanford.


Organizers:
CleanTech Group of CIE/USA-SF (formerly CARES)
Chinese American Renewable Energy Society (CARES) founded in 2009 in Silicon Valley by a small group of professionals who shared their common interests in alternative sources of clean energy, energy efficiency, and global environmental sustainability, is to promote renewable energy and clean technology to Chinese American communities by providing a common platform, services, activities and education. Now CARES has merged with the Chinese Institute of Engineers USA San Francisco Bay Area Chapter to become the CleanTech Group of CIE/USA-SF.

ITRI International (www.itri.com)
An ITRI subsidiary (ITRI is based in Hsinchu, Taiwan.) is located in San Jose, California. Strategically situated at the heart of the Silicon Valley, ITRI, International is in a good position to monitor the latest technology trends. In line with ITRI's emphasis on advanced and innovative R&D, ITRI, International strives to provide timely industrial and technological information to help mapping strategies, setting research directions and identifying cooperation opportunities.

To enhance ITRI's R&D capacities and promote its visibility on the world stage, ITRI, International has engineered collaborations with prestigious universities, such as, MIT , Stanford, UCLA, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. ITRI, International has also undertaken a wide range of joint projects in electronics, bio-medicine, micro-electromechanical Systems (MEMS), packaging, and nanotechnology.

In line with industrial needs in Taiwan, ITRI, International has helped ITRI enter into alliances with distinguished companies, such as the Rockwell Science Center, Dow Chemical, Symyx Technologies Inc., Draper Labs, and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), to jointly develop LCD compensators, electronics materials, combinatorial chemistry, chemical sensors, and semi-solid forming technologies, thereby enhancing Taiwan's industrial competitiveness in world markets.