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OCR for page 127
Introduction
Clark McFadden
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP
On behalf of the STEP Committee on Best Practice in State & Regional In-
novation Initiatives and its chair, Prof. Mary Good, Clark McFadden introduced
the symposium as one in a series to address the theme of creating and sustaining
clusters of technology development and manufacturing. Such clusters, he said,
had proven to be successful at generating jobs, economic growth, and productiv -
ity, and were an important objective of state, regional, and national innovation
programs.
He recalled that the National Academy of Engineering had recently charac -
terized more economical solar energy production as one of its “grand challenges”
for the nation.2 At the center of this challenge was photovoltaic technologies, or
PV, the use of solar cells to convert solar energy directly into electricity. Various
strategies had been tried in various countries to advance the photovoltaic technol-
ogies industry, he said, including financial engineering, project loan guarantees,
subsidies, and trade-in tariffs. The symposium had been organized to focus on an
additional strategy, government-industry-academia partnerships for PV manufac-
turing. Such partnerships, suggested Mr. McFadden, would permit a new level of
“technology engineering” that would help structure, facilitate, and leverage the
multiple abilities and perspectives needed to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
Successful technology partnering has many elements, he said, including the
sharing of experience and information, the joint assumption of risk, and ulti -
mately successful insertion into commercial markets. Such partnerships, he said,
were likely to increase the industry’s ability to assess technology obstacles, gaps,
2 National
Academy of Engineering, Grand Challenges for Engineering, Washington, D.C.: The
National Academies Press, 2008.
127
OCR for page 128
128 FUTURE OF PHOTOVOLTAICS MANUFACTURING
and opportunities, perhaps through the use of roadmaps and agreement on tech -
nical standards. Partnerships would also provide the ability to support research
more effectively through the provision of financial support, technical guidance,
and performance evaluation. They could also support research directly through
partners in government agencies and laboratories, universities, nonprofits, and
industry.
Finally, he said, the use of partnerships could broaden the ability to transfer
technology to the stage of commercialization, which is “critical to any manufac-
turing effort and has always characterized the most successful technology partner-
ing ventures.” One way to promote this is to provide demonstration facilities or
foundries that can validate improvements in manufacturing materials, equipment,
and processes. “All of these dimensions can contribute to successful technology
partnering,” he said, “and all are relevant to our agenda today.”
He noted that the men and women attending the symposium represented
many constituencies that have a significant stake in PV manufacturing:
• Many of the senior leadership of the Department of Energy, who were part
of “a national mission to promote PV energy.”
• Congressional members and staff, who were crafting legislation designed
to advance the nation’s global standing in PV manufacturing.
• Leaders of the PV industry, including both device manufacturers and sup -
pliers of equipment and materials.
• Representatives of other collaborative ventures in technology develop-
ment and manufacturing, notably the semiconductor industry.
• Representatives of state and regional governments, who were eager to at -
tract and promote clusters of technology development and manufacturing in PV.
Mr. McFadden closed by noting that the Senate report for the 2010 appropriations
act had urged the DoE to use input from this and related National Academies
symposia in establishing PV manufacturing initiatives.
