• Allen Barnett, President & CEO Astropower Inc.
• Harvey Forest, President and CEO, Solarex
• Robert de Franclieu, Commercial director, Photowatt

Dr. Allen Barnett, President & CEO Astropower Inc.
I was impressed by the vitality of the industry evidenced by the continual flow of people through the exhibition and the strength and professionalism shown in the technical papers. Oral papers were an interesting mix of state-of-the-art research plus the required politically selected papers, while the posters provided a very high density of strong technical content.
The commercial exhibits were widely distributed over the separated space but were very successful. There was important contact between the customers and vendors and also between technologists and the commercial people. Several of my colleagues and I observed that there was too much to do and there was not enough time to interact with many of the excellent posters. Too much to do seems like a great problem.
The award of the Becquerel Prize to Walter Sandtner for the creation of the ground breaking 1 000 solar roofs programme in Germany was an inspired gesture. It was great to meet and hear from the person who began this important world wide initiative.
Vienna set a very high standard for the next international meeting in Sapporo, Anchorage and Glasgow. The industry and technology appear to be an excellent health. I look forward to a bright future as solar electric power delivers on its potential.
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Dr. Harvey Forest, President and CEO, Solarex
From a Solarex perspective, Vienna highlighted a number of interesting and important new developments. Significant progress continues to be made in improving cell and module performance, including new conversion efficiency records for a mono-crystalline silicon PV module (22,7%), a multicrystalline silicon cell (19,8%) and triple-junction amorphous silicon cells (initial efficiency 15,2%).
In addition, companies such as BP Solar, Siemens Solar and Solarex are aggressively moving ahead with commercialisation of thin film products. BP Solar is starting production of CdTe PV modules in California while Siemens has already started limited production of CIS modules. Solarex exhibited 0,75m2 tandem amorphous silicon modules that are now being produced commercially in our new plant in Virginia. There also appears to be a growing interest in the possibility of using thin film photovoltaics in space due to excellent radiation tolerance and high power to weight ratios. The development of thin crystalline silicon solar cells is another area that is receiving considerable attention.
Many papers dealt with the manufacturability of high efficiency processes and the development of high throughput equipment. Considerable progress was also evident in the development of PV systems for building-integrated applications, and for grid-connected systems in general, and also in setting up a global system for rating PV modules and systems.
Vienna witnessed the largest PV meeting ever. The number of attendees, and exhibitors bodes well for the future. We should try to open these events even more to the general public, now, perhaps set up an evening panel session, where important issues relevant to the development of photovoltaics could be aimed.
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Robert de Franclieu, Commercial director, Photowatt
Vienna was an excellent opportunity for us to present the new Photowatt company (now a subsidiary of Matrix), and to generally increase our level of communication with the market. From a marketing viewpoint we see a lot of optimism. The huge growth in 1997 still has a strong effect on the business, and the high level of interest in the exhibition as direct reflection of this growth. All of the major manufacturers were present, along with new actors in module assembly and PV systems components. We can also see the industry maturing in the growing involvement of financial experts in the development of the markets. The work being done on new financial tools and new independent participants is a confirmation of the potential of this industry.

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