The 2006 Taipei International Photovoltaic Forum was held on 4th July, with dozens of top executives of leading photovoltaic companies around the world having attended. The companies included Hemlock Semiconductor Corp in the US, Germany's Q-Cells, Taiwan's E-TON Solar Tech., and Japan's Kyocera Corp, Tokuyama and Sharp Corp.

President of E-TON Solar Tech., Dr. Tsai was invited as a speaker in this important forum in Taiwan, to share viewpoints of the future of solar cell industry.

The experts who attended the Taipei International Photovoltaic Forum indicated that the demand for solar energy will remain strong in the coming years, with a compound annual growth rate of 22 percent to 35 percent before 2010.

A TAITRA spokesman said that although solar energy only comprises 1 percent of global energy generation -- or 1.8 gigawatts -- the ratio will rise to 25 percent by 2040, with a total volume of 9,000 trillion watt-hours.