More than 130 solar industry representatives recently gathered for Solar Exchange West, hosted by Siemens, University of California, Los Angeles, Clean Tech LA and the LA Business Council.

The event was held at the California Nanosystems Institute at UCLA in Los Angeles - bringing together industry and academia to collaborate and innovate in the field of solar technology. Participants included photovoltaic researchers, utility representatives, manufacturers, developers, OEMs, integrators and others.

Solar Exchange West featured a discovery and dialogue on the latest emerging topics, innovations and trends within the solar industry. Siemens recently announced the dates for Solar Exchange East which will be held in conjunction with the North Carolina Solar Center, September 21, 2011 on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.

Solar Exchange East, designed for manufacturers and developers of solar power, will include topics such as advancing clean energy for a sustainable economy, solar tracking and thin film technology, financing in the solar power industry and CAE advances in solar satellite development.

According to recent statistics, the solar industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S., surpassing $6 billion in sales in 2010 with more than 2.6 GW of installed solar capacity nationwide.

"Siemens has been a committed industry partner in the solar industry since the early 1950's, and this support includes not only the development of innovative products and solutions, but being a market leader through thought leadership, legislative initiatives and facilitating grants for research to progress solar initiatives," says Richard Myers, senior director of solar vertical markets for Siemens.

Siemens has a wide portfolio of products and solutions covering the entire solar value chain. Siemens has both horizontally and vertically integrated products for process, line and machine automation, as well as field operations with products and systems such as inverters, tracking control, wireless communication and other automation components.

"Siemens has been a valuable partner of UCLA Engineering for many years, including supporting research efforts in the fields of health care, engineering, building technologies and applied sciences," says Dr. Vijay K. Dhir, dean of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.

"Siemens' ongoing contributions to the school allow both our students and faculty to advance innovation and technology in areas such as clean technology, health care, transportation, manufacturing and commercial environments, and contribute positively to society."

Topics of discussion during Solar Exchange West included the greening of the solar industry, optimization of solar dish-turbine platforms, incentives for stimulating growth in solar installations, solar tracking technology, success factors in utility-scale solar projects, next generation cost reductions and facility challenges at solar manufacturing plants.

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