We will Provide Global Solutions to Climate Change

Philippe Bastien
President of the Solar SBU,
Flat Glass Company
* The job title is as of March, 2009

We know about the limited availability of fossil energy sources, including oil. In addition, we know that climate change is a reality and this is agreed by everyone today. Against this backdrop, a number of countries are proactively introducing power generation using renewable energy such as solar power. In Europe, driven by state policies, including regulatory initiatives, the use of solar energy has been further expanding, particularly in Germany and Spain. The introduction of solar cells has also been favorably promoted in countries like Greece, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Italy, and France, and this trend is not limited to Europe. The accelerated use of solar power is also expected in the United States, where there is increasing momentum for environmental protection, as well as in Japan, which is planning to introduce a feed-in-tariff system-a system in which a fixed price is paid for electricity generated by the use of renewable energy. The solar market will boom even further once grid parity (i.e., the cost of solar electricity equals that of conventional electricity) is met.
In February 2008, the AGC Group created the Solar SBU within its Flat Glass Company at that time with the aim of establishing a global system for the development, production, and sale of glass materials used for solar cells. We will respond to the global expansion of solar cell markets via the use of this global system, which indeed provides us with a competitive advantage. Specifically, regarding photovoltaic (PV) cover glass, which we are currently producing in our bases in the United States, Belgium, and the Philippines, we will also start producing this material in China. As for transparent conductive oxide (TCO)-coated glass substrates, we will examine producing them in regions with high market growth potential, in addition to our current bases in Japan, the United States, and Belgium.
On the technological front, we will further differentiate ourselves by using the core glass technology we have long accumulated in our business operations. It is essential for us, a supplier of glass materials, to help our customers to increase their efficiency, and we can do this by providing them with such products as cover glass with antireflection coating and TCO-coated glass substrates. Customers will be able to save on costs if the power generation efficiency of their solar cell modules is increased, for example, and this will help to achieve the grid parity and consequently to expand the solar cell market.
In the near future, we will strengthen our ties with other business units within the Group in order to develop materials that will further increase the possibilities of solar cells and provide global solutions to climate change. We are confident that we can contribute to the prevention of climate change through our technology, as upheld in our new management policy, Grow Beyond.