It’s almost as if the weather knows. With only a few days to go before Intersolar North America kicks off, the prediction is for four sunny days in a row from Monday to Thursday next week. So be sure to step outside of the Moscone Center every now and again to bask in the sunshine in between booth visits, conferences and networking.

Intersolar North America is expected to draw crowds of over 22,000 visitors to this year’s event. And with more than 800 exhibitors registered to attend and populate the 174,000 square-foot exhibition halls, there is no doubt that the organizers’ 2011 event will be hugely popular.

The exhibition runs from Tuesday to Thursday, both inclusive, while the conference itself (to be held in the InterContinental Hotel San Francisco) begins on Monday. The conference boasts over 200 speakers, with more than 1,600 delegates expected to turn up to hear the latest views, opinions and hard facts about the global PV industry – and to try and determine where it’s going in the future.

While there is a wealth of exhibitors, conferences and after-parties to visit – our favourite of which are listed below – one event in particular will be sure to draw a crowd as it did at Intersolar Europe this year. EuPD Research’s Joint Forces for Solar initiative and 3rd US PV Briefing & Networking Forum will take place on July 12, 3.30 to 6.00pm in the Moscone Center’s West Hall, Level 2, and speakers will focus on bringing together installers with the major global players in the industry to form a joint effort to dispel the myths surrounding solar.

You can find several of our team at the Photovoltaics International booth, number 8504. As always, we welcome visitors to the booth, and will be well stocked with several of our publications, including the free Photovoltaics International Lite. Be sure to drop by to get your reduced-price copy of Manufacturing the Solar Future: the 2011 PV Production Annual, which will cost only US$65 instead of the usual online price of US$74.