The Photovoltaics Industry

The photovoltaic industry is slowly expanding with continuous advances in materials and thin-film technology. The deposition techniques, which were at first based mostly on sputtering and evaporation, are now increasingly relying on CVD. 

The photovoltaics industry could expand rapidly if the efficiency of polycrystalline modules could be increased to 15 percent, if these modules could be built with assurance of reliability over a 10- to 20-year period, and if they could be manufactured for 100 or less per square meter. Solar energy research has been largely directed toward only one of these issues efficiency. All research aimed at reducing manufacturing costs has been done in industry and has been largely empirical. Almost no fundamental engineering research has been done on either the laboratory scale or the pilot plant scale for cost-effective processes for the production of photoconverters. 

Jager-Waldau, A. (Editor). 2007.2nd International Workshop on Thin Films in the Photovoltaic Industry, EUR 22630. (Ispra, Italy Nov. 9—10, 2006). 

Multijunction cell technology developed by the photovoltaic industry is being used to develop photo-electrochemical light harvesting systems that generate sufficient... 

For excellent information on the photovoltaic industry, see Solarbuzz, www.solarbuzz.com. The site includes a survey of solar cell prices, along with general news and resources. ... 

It is clear that the development of vapor phase epitaxy reactor at atmospheric pressure is booming. The process leads to good quality material and is compatible with the photovoltaic industry criteria of efficiency and reduced production costs. Indeed, the active layer deposition step represents the main cost of a thin cell process. Any innovation to reduce the thermal budget of this operation is of major interest. 

Multicrystalline silicon wafers, with crystal sizes in the range 1-100 mm, ° are currently the main workhorse for the photovoltaics industry. Hydrogen passivation steps used in cell manufacture in recent years, particularly those involved in the deposition of silicon nitride layers on front surfaces, have reduced the impact of electrically active impurities and defects in MC-Si cells and reduced the performance deficit relative to monocrystalline cells. 

Bernreuter, J. The delay. A lack of silicon supply for the photovoltaics industry over the next two to three years. Photon Int. 2004, (5), 36 2. 

If you wish to purchase ESPMs rather than build your own, be ready for some sticker shock. While it is inexpensive to build these panels, it is not inexpensive to buy them. The reason is that the photovoltaic industry has not yet caught up with the idea of the coming hydrogen economy. This is no surprise, since many PV companies are owned by large oil companies, and for a variety of reasons they are not interested in promoting small scale hydrogen production. 

First, the researchers estimated the response of the photovoltaic supply industry to the various alternatives by using data from three different sources a workshop of photovoltaic industry representatives, an assessment by an independent market research firm with photovoltaic experience, and a joint SERI/Jet Propulsion Laboratory analysis of the photovoltaic industry. Market estimates were derived from reviews and comparison of several available market studies and from a workshop attended by representatives of potential buyers in selected markets. Then, using a consumers surplus approach to calculate benefits, the authors used changes in price and quantity estimates attributed to the initiative to calculate the expected marginal net benefits of the initiative. Because of uncertainties in the size of potential intermediate markets, the effectiveness of the initiative was analyzed under a range of possible market scenarios. 

Photovoltaic Applications For future use in the photovoltaic industry, solar modules will need to be produced on the Terawatt scale. Since, until now, polycrystalline silicon wafers have been the most widely investigated solar cell concept, and continue to demonstrate substantial cost advantages over their competitors, the use of alternative materials is at present economically unfavorable. 

R. H. Annan, W. L. Wallace, T. Surek, E. Boes, and L. O. Herwig, Department of Energy Keview of the U.S. Photovoltaic Industry, Report ST-211-3488, Solar Energy Research Institute, Golden, Colo., 1989. 

The U S. photovoltaics industry serves more than 100 different countries. Major competition comes from Japan and, to a limited extent, from Europe. U.S. firms have a dominant position in the power module market (devices with photovoltaic areas greater than 0.5 m ) while Japanese firms have dominated the consumer market for small-photovoltaic goods (e.g., calculators, watches, and radios). 

The Spanish Photovoltaic Industry Association, known as Asociacion de la Industria Fotovoltaica (ASIF) represents manufacturers and users of photovoltaic energy in Spain. The nation of Spain has an extremely active solar energy industry which is encouraged by government subsidies. 

---