Has the latest round of consolidation in the supply chain enabled a more sustainable growth curve for the solar industry or is this a blip fuelled by subsidies? In this context Photovoltaics International has never been more relevant for your business. Whether you are a glass half empty or full person, the fact remains that orders are up across the board, new markets are coming on stream and analysts’ predictions are increasing again. Optimism is starting to creep into even the most conservative of organisations.
R&D expenditure by major PV module manufacturers has not been immune to the PV industry’s period of profitless prosperity. However, spending in 2012 was not affected to the extent that many would have expected, with a number of companies increasing their R&D activities and boosting staffing levels to meet R&D roadmap requirements. This paper discusses the current trends in R&D spending and staffing levels, highlighting both leaders and laggards.
In principle solar cells are very simple: they convert sunlight to electricity and can be characterized by a single number – the solar cell efficiency. Manufacturers obviously want to achieve this efficiency at the lowest possible cost, so it is critical that the efficiency/cost ratio be optimized. To this end, knowledge of where the biggest gains can be achieved is key. This paper presents an in-depth loss analysis method developed at the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) and details how various losses in a silicon wafer solar cell can be quantified, which is not done in the case of a conventional solar cell measurement. Through a combination of high-precision measurements, it is shown that it is possible to fully quantify the various loss mechanisms which reduce short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage and fill factor. This extensive quantitative analysis, which is not limited to silicon wafer solar cells, provides solar cell researchers and production line engineers with a ‘health check’ for their solar cells–something that can be used to further improve the efficiency of their devices.
The potential for PV modules to fail before the end of their intended service life increases the perceived risk, and therefore the cost, of funding PV installations. While current IEC and UL certification testing standards for PV modules have helped to reduce the risk of early field (infant mortality) failures, they are a necessary, but not sufficient, part of determining PV module service life. The goal of the PV Durability Initiative is to establish a baseline PV durability assessment programme. PV modules are rated according to their likelihood of performing reliably over their expected service life. Modules are subjected to accelerated stress testing intended to reach the wear-out regime for a given set of environmental conditions. In parallel with the accelerated tests, modules are subjected to long-term outdoor exposure; the correlation between the accelerated tests and actual operation in the field is an ultimate goal of the programme. As understanding of PV module durability grows, the test protocols will be revised as necessary. The regular publication of durability ratings for leading PV modules will enable PV system developers and financiers to make informed deployment decisions.
Module assembly drives as much as a third of the total module cost and can have a significant impact on overall module performance in terms of efficiency and module lifetime. This paper reviews some of the newest moduling material trends, and the outlook for the module market.
Over the past two years the PV industry has been in disarray as massive global overcapacity has sent prices tumbling. In this context, technological innovation to reduce the costs of base materials and products has become increasingly important. The latest edition of the International Technology Roadmap for PV published in March offers insights into the latest developments as manufacturers continue to seek ways of cutting costs. This paper explains some of the key dynamics identified in the roadmap.
To achieve project cash flow expectations, it is necessary to operate, maintain and optimize the performance of a PV power asset to meet or exceed the pro forma operating assumptions. To assume as given the achievement of these model assumptions is both naive and risky. Experience in operating the largest fleet of solar PV power plants in the world has demonstrated that project financial hurdle rates can be missed by as much as 25% if the plant is not well maintained and its performance is not optimized. Conversely, an optimized PV asset can generate cash flows 2–10% higher than expected if the optimization approach described in this paper is implemented.
For manufacturers who had their heads in the bunker during 2012, fighting falling ASPs and eroding margins, the nineteenth edition brings you details of what lies in store for this coming year. Wright Williams & Kelly return in this issue with their popular analysis of payback on technology buys; crucially they analyze n-type wafers, Al2O3 passivation and copper metallization. SERIS shows us how to achieve 18.7% efficiencies using low-cost etching techniques on diffused wafers. We also have two important technology roundups: CIGS from Helmholtz Berlin, and PV module encapsulation techniques from Fraunhofer ISE.
The rapid growth of the PV market during the last five to seven years entailed a considerable expansion of the encapsulation material market, which temporarily led to shortages in the supply chain. Simultaneously, module prices decreased significantly, which resulted in intense pressure on production costs and the cost of PV module components, inducing changes in the encapsulation material market towards new materials and suppliers. This pressure – together with the huge impact of the encapsulation material on module efficiency, stability and reliability – makes the selection of encapsulation technologies and materials a very important and critical decision in the module design process. This paper presents an overview of the different materials currently on the market, the general requirements of PV module encapsulation materials, and the interactions of these materials with other module components.
This is the second and concluding part of a study on the solar photovoltaic market. In the first part, photovoltaic energy was contrasted with other energy sources used to generate electricity, and cost points necessary to produce a sustainable photovoltaic market were identified. In this second part, learning rates required to attain those cost points are provided. The paper concludes by examining a scenario in which 15% of the world’s electricity in 2035 is generated using photovoltaic energy, and frames the challenge from both global investment and profitability perspectives.
