Photovoltaics from Milliwatts to Gigawatts Understanding Market and Technology Drivers toward Terawatts

An essential guide through the rapid evolution of PV technology

Photovoltaics from Milliwatts to Gigawatts: Understanding Market and Technology Drivers toward Terawatts covers the history of silicon based PV, from the earliest discoveries to present and future practice.

Divided into 9 chapters, the book includes the following topics: Early History; The 1973 Oil crisis and the drive for alternative energies; The emergence in the 1980's of the off grid PV market, the significant small scale PV consumer market and the establishment of a manufacturing industry; Advantages of silicon for solar cells; The evolution of PV installations; The history of the incentive programme for PV; Difficulties of alternative technologies in challenging silicon dominance; Current status of the silicon manufacturing technology and The future.

Key features:

• An authoritative first-hand account of an emerging technology from laboratory to global significance for electricity generation by an industry expert.
• Provides a framework for policy makers on future trends in the PV industry.
• Examines the lessons learnt from the interaction of research laboratories, major industry and government.
• Signposts the route to future high efficiency silicon solar cells giving new researchers a background for further development.
• Highlights the critical success factors for the emerging alternative manufacturing technologies.

An essential PV guide aimed at researchers and students in electrical engineering and physical sciences through the rapid evolution of PV technology to commercial viability and the challenges ahead for increased performance, efficiency and global deployment.

Timothy Bruton, TMB Consulting, UK
Tim Bruton graduated with a BSc in Physics and a PhD in Materials Science from Imperial College London. He has held a number of technical positions with multinational companies including Executive Director at BP Solar from 1983 to 2003 mainly in crystalline silicon but also for thin film and OPV developments. Between 2003 and 2007, Tim led the PV group at NaREC where it carried out UK and European R&D projects and small scale manufacturing of custom solar cells. Since January 2008, Tim has worked as an independent consultant. Tim has published over 100 papers in the PV field and is managing co-editor of Wiley’s Progress in Photovoltaics. He is an independent expert in PV for the European Commission and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.

Preface

Chapter 1   The Photovoltaics -the birth of a technology and its first application

1.1          Introduction

1.2          Sunlight and electricity

1.2.1      The early Years

1.2.2 The breakthrough to commercial photovoltaic cells.

1.2.3 The hiatus

1.2.4      The first successful market- Satellites

1.3          Photovoltaics demonstrates success.

1.3.1 First Commercial Operation

1.3.2 Solar Cell Manufacturing

1.4 Gallium Arsenide and III-V alloys for space.

1.4.1. Single Junction GaAs solar cells

1.4.2      Multi-junction Solar Cells for space.

1.5          Summary

1.6          References

Chapter 2  The Beginnings of a Terrestrial Photovoltaic Industry

2.1 Introduction

2.2 The 1973 Oil Crisis

2.3 The Way Ahead for Terrestrial PV Technology.

2.3.1 Basic Silicon PV manufacturing Process

2.3.2 The Low Cost Silicon Solar Array Project (FPSA).

2.3.2.1 Solar Grade Silicon

2.3.2.2 Silicon Sheet Wafers and Ribbons

2.3.2.3 High Efficiency Solar Cells

2.3.2.4 Process development

2.3.2.5 Engineering Sciences and Reliability.

2.3.2.6 Module Encapsulation

2.3.2.7 Cost Goals

2.4 Rise of the USA PV Manufacturing Industry

2.5 Developments in Europe

2.5 Developments in Europe

2.6 The transition in cell technology from space to terrestrial applications

2.7 Alternatives to Silicon for Solar cells

2.8 Summary

2.9 References

Chapter 3  The Early PV global market and manufacturers

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Off Grid Professional Market

3.2.1 Navigation aids.

3.2.2 Microwave Repeater Stations

3.2.3 Cathodic Protection

3.2.4 Other Applications.

3.2.5 Early Grid Connected application

3.3. Off Grid social applications

3.3.1 Solar Home systems

3.3.2 Water Pumping

3.2.3 Consumer Electronics

3.4 Summary

3.5 References

Chapter 4 Silicon Technology Development to 2010

4.1 Introduction

4.2  Technologies supplying the global market.

4.3 Advantages of silicon as a solar cell material.

4.3.1 Availability

4.3.2 Elemental semiconductor

4.3.3. Non-toxic

4.3.4 Self passivating oxide

4.3.5 Synergy with global semiconductor industry.

4.4 Silicon Solar Cell Design Features

4.5  Silicon Solar cell manufacturing from 1980 to 1990.

4.6  Developments in Manufacturing Technology

4.6.1  Silicon Feedstock

4.6.2 Crystallisation

4.6.3 Wafering

4.6.4 Anti-Reflection Coating (ARC)

4.6.5 Solar Cell Development to 2000

4.6.5.1 Cz-Cell Development

4.6.5.2 Multicrystalline Silicon Processing

4.6.5.3 Integration of mono and multicrystalline silicon processes.

4.6.5.4 Other process technology changes

4.7 Module Technology

4. 8 Summary

4.9 References

Chapter 5   The Current Status of PV Systems

5.1 Introduction

5.2 The off-grid market

5.3 The decentralised grid connected market.

5.3.1 Research Phase 1974-1989

5.3.2 The Demonstration Phase 1989-2000

5.3.3 Decentralised Grid connected market 2000- 2019: The Commercial phase

5.3.2.1 The achievement of grid parity

5.3.2.2 Resolution of the silicon feedstock supply.

5.4 Utility Scale Grid connected PV systems

5.5 Novel applications

5.6 Summary

5.7 References

Chapter 6 History of incentives for PV

6.1 The Chicken and egg problem

6.2 Capital Subsidies on system purchase

6.3 Feed-in-Tariffs.

6.4 Power Purchase Agreements and other Incentives for large scale systems.

6.5 Summary

6.6 References

Chapter 7 Difficulties of Alternative Technologies to Silicon

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Sheet Silicon Processes.

7.2.1 Direct crystallisation of silicon sheet.

7.2.1.1  Westinghouse Dendritic Web

7.2.1.2 Edge Defined  Foil Growth (EFG)

7.2.1.3 String Ribbon Technology

7.2.2 Cast Silicon sheet

7.2.2.1 Hoxan Casting process.

7.2.2.2 Ribbon Growth on Substrate(RGS)

7.2.2.3 Direct Wafer ™

7.2.2.4  Lift Off wafer technology

7.3 Thin film Solar Cell Technologies

7.3.1 Copper Sulphide Solar Cells

7.3.2  Amorphous Silicon

7.3.3 Amorphous Silicon Manufacturing

7.3.4 Manufacturing the amorphous silicon microcrystalline silicon tandem cell

7.3.5 Thin film crystalline silicon

7.3.6 Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide (CIGS).

7.3.6.1 CIGS Manufacturing

7.3.7 Cadmium Telluride Technology

7.3.7.1 Cadmium Telluride Commercial production.

7.4 Dye sensitised Solar Cells (DSSC)

7.5 Polymer (Organic) Solar Cells  (OPV)

7.6 Perovskite  (PVK)Solar Cells

7.7 Concentrator technology

7.8 Summery

7.9 References

Chapter 8  Current status of crystalline silicon manufacturing and future trends

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Approaches to high efficiency silicon solar cells on p type silicon  wafers.

8.2.1 Laser Grooved Buried Contact (LGBC) Solar Cells

8.2.2 Selective Emitters

8.2.3 PERL and PERC Solar Cells

8.2.4 Industrial Manufacture of PERC Cells.

8.2.5 Bifacial Module Technology

8.2.6 Light Induced Degradation

8.3 Solar cells with n type silicon

8.3.1 Silicon Heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells

8.3.2 Rear Junction Silicon Heterojunction solar cells (IBC-SHJ)

8.3.3 N type IBC cells without amorphous silicon passivation

8.4 The future of PV technology towards Terrawatts

8.4.1 III-V Tandems on Silicon

8.4.2 Silicon Tandems using perovskites

8.5 Silicon Module Reliability

8.6 Summary

8.7 References

Chapter 9  The Lessons Learnt

9.1 introduction

9.2 Role of governments

9.3  Role of the Research Community

9.4 The role of manufacturing Industry in Europe and the USA

9.5 Role of China as a PV manufacturing base.

9.6 Potential for continues market growth

9.7 Future Technology Development

9.8 Final analysis

9.9 References

Index

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