Solar photovoltaic electricity: Current status and future prospects

T. M. Razykov, C. S. Ferekides, D. Morel, E. Stefanakos, H. S. Ullal, H. M. Upadhyaya

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

875 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We review the technical progress made in the past several years in the area of mono-and polycrystalline thin-film photovoltaic (PV) technologies based on Si, III-V, II-VI, and I-III-VI2 semiconductors, as well as nano-PV. PV electricity is one of the best options for sustainable future energy requirements of the world. At present, the PV market is growing rapidly at an annual rate of 35-40%, with PV production around 10.66 GW in 2009. Si and GaAs monocrystalline solar cell efficiencies are very close to the theoretically predicted maximum values. Mono-and polycrystalline wafer Si solar cells remain the predominant PV technology with module production cost around $1.50 per peak watt. Thin-film PV was developed as a means of substantially reducing the cost of solar cells. Remarkable progress has been achieved in this field in recent years. CdTe and Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 thin-film solar cells demonstrated record efficiencies of 16.5% and almost 20%, respectively. These values are the highest achieved for thin-film solar cells. Production cost of CdTe thin-film modules is presently around $0.76 per peak watt. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1580-1608
Number of pages29
JournalSolar Energy
Volume85
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2011

Keywords

  • Solar
  • Photovoltaics
  • Wafer
  • Thin film
  • Photovoltaic market
  • Nanophotovoltaics

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