Photovoltaics International Papers

The workhorse of the photovoltaic industry, crystalline-silicon solar cells, continues to have additional headroom for conversion efficiency improvement as well as decreased production costs. As some companies have already demonstrated, clear pathways exist to bring about the achievement of >20%-efficient monocrystalline cells through the use of existing and novel production techniques. A newcomer to the solar cell and module sector, Suniva, has rapidly become a volume manufacturer using innovations originally developed at the University Center of Excellence in Photovoltaics (UCEP) at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This paper discusses the company’s first- and second-generation production technologies, including the implementation of ion implantation as a high-volume process, as well as details of cell-making approaches in the development stage.

Case in point: SolFocus’s recently dedicated 1MW (AC) high-concentrator photovoltaic installation located on the campus of Victor Valley College in the high desert of Southern California northeast of Los Angeles, which is the largest (H)CPV deployment in North America to date and the Mountain View, CA based company’s biggest project as well.

This paper presents and discusses the merits of layout, systems and options for exhaust treatments in PV cell production. Such treatments usually comprise central acid scrubbing, NOx scrubbing, Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) removal and several local treatments for dust, silane, and VOCs, while caustic scrubbing is an option for monocrystalline PV cell production. As direct and indirect major emissions from typical production steps have already been identified [1], this article focuses on a full emission pattern and identifies two sectors, VOC and NOx treatment, as most important for environmental impact analysis.

Thin-film solar photovoltaic technology offers the benefits of low-cost and high-volume production. Yet numerous thin-film PV startups have struggled in their efforts to commercialize complex, expensive production technologies, as production ramps have taken longer than expected, and venture capital and other sources of funding have run dry. This article describes a proprietary cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film module production process commercialized by Abound Solar: heated-pocket deposition (HPD) of the semiconductor layer, and the replacement of a traditional lamination process with a novel edge seal. The simple production process has resulted in a fast ramp of module efficiency and throughput. The paper will also describe how the process also results in fast throughput, high yields, and low manufacturing and capital equipment costs.

Mainland France’s photovoltaics market is substantially different from the situation in the country’s overseas Départements (DOM) and Corsica. Feed-in tariffs, tax breaks, financing and market players all differ in these territories. This paper takes a look at France’s mainland market, providing a projection for the country’s future market and some resources for more information on the DOM and Corsican markets [1].

Solar enterprises will each be faced with the occasional surplus or lack of solar modules in their lifetimes. In these instances, it is useful to adjust these stock levels at short notice, thus creating a spot market. Spot markets serve the short-term trade of different products, where the seller is able to permanently or temporarily offset surplus, while buyers are able to access attractive offers on surplus stocks and supplement existing supply arrangements as a last resort.

PV industry module and component manufacturers have brought down costs significantly over the last four years. This trend is clearly evident as most publicly traded companies continue to grow revenue despite falling module and component prices. However, it is far less clear how downstream system integrators are handling the drop in system prices and contributing to value creation. System prices are generally higher in the U.S. than in Europe, despite lower module prices in the U.S. This disparity often raises questions on the part of European PV professionals where these costs come from, and secondly, what have U.S. system integrators done to reduce costs. This two-part series will shed light on how U.S. system integrators have undertaken tremendous efforts to decrease cost and add value through innovation by focussing on labour-intensive value creation in the downstream segment. Part I will focus on the residential market segment by delving into activity cost savings through innovation in engineering and construction, while Part II will illustrate how changes in sales, rebates, interconnection, and the supply-chain management over the last five years have reduced costs.

“Handle with care” – this world-renowned warning sign is inherently printed on every wafer until it is safely wrapped into a finished module – and for good reason. Despite the declining price of silicon and the improved manufacturing methods, the raw wafer still has a major share in the overall cost of a module. If we assume an average wafer price of €2.70 for a 156mm multicrystalline wafer, the finished cell will cost about €4.00. Adding in the module manufacturing costs, a cell in a typical module will cost €5.00. Hence, the wafer accounts for more than 50% of the total manufacturing costs, and as such is key to optimizing the costs in the solar value chain for crystalline photovoltaic products. This paper offers some guidelines on the wet wafer separation process that are intended to aid in minimizing the cost associated with wafer breakage.

Canada is aggressively pursuing solar photovoltaic manufacturing. Ontario, the province leading the charge, is already the manufacturing hub for other products in Canada and currently boasts one of the most generous feed-in tariffs in the world. This incentive is closely tied to domestic content restrictions in order to foster Canadian photovoltaic manufacturing. In addition, a host of other tax incentives and research and development stimulus packages are making Canada an increasingly popular destination for both established manufacturers and start-up companies.

Advanced Process Control (APC) has become an indispensable cornerstone of today’s semiconductor manufacturing. With roots in chemical processing, APC has not only proven itself in semiconductor manufacturing, but has potential to enhance yield in adjacent industries, such as photovoltaics. This paper gives a short introduction to APC, including its key elements, and proceeds to illustrate examples and success stories from the application of APC in semiconductor manufacturing. Based on these application examples, the lessons learned are summarized and the potentials of APC for PV are derived.