Photovoltaic - Solar Cell Renewable Energy Photovoltaic - Solar Cell Daniel Pham

Solar Source The average solar power incident on Continental US is 1600 x 1012 W This is 500x the power consumption in US (3.3 x 1012 W) If we cover 2% of the continental US with 10% efficient PV systems, we would make all the energy we need. FYI: 1.5% of Continental US is covered by roads

Drivers for Solar power 2 billions people without electricity worldwide Low cost for remote requirements Power line extension costs $10,000 to $30,000 per mile Reduce peaking loads Government subsidies Environmental friendly

How Photovoltaic Solar Cell Work p-n junction Light can be separated into different wavelengths Only photon has more energy required can generate electron-hole pair

Theoretical Efficiency of Photovoltaic Cell High band gap PV cell provides higher voltage Typical efficiency of commercial PV is around 12%

Types of Photovoltaic Cell First Generation PV Cell: Single crystalline silicon Multi-junction cell (different band-gap materials) Second Generation PV Cell: Thin film silicon (amorphous silicon) CdTe (Cadmium Telluride) CuInSe2 (Copper Indium Diselenide) Third Generation PV Cell Ultra-High Efficiency concepts (>80%) Ultra-low Cost Polymer cells with quantum dots or nanostructures Carbon nanotube on Si for more efficient solar power CdTe rods in polymer

Photovoltaic Roadmap 1st Generation PV Crystalline Silicon 2nd Generation PV Thin Film 3rd Generation PV Ultra-High Efficiency Ultra-Low Cost Source: European Commission meeting Dec. 2004

Decline Price of PV Where is the cost: PV manufacturing cost Produce wafer (40%) Fabricate cell (30%) Interconnect and laminate (30%) State, federal, utility and other subsidize combine paying half of the cost Installation cost (same as cost of the module)

Worldwide PV Growth Source: European Commission meeting Dec. 2004

Future Reality ? If the PV market growth continues at rate of 20% and panel lasts 50yrs, there will be 100 TW of energy provide by PV cells on the ground Within 50 years, photovoltaic will supply more than half of the world’s supply energy

Government Policy For Solar Energy National Energy Policy Act of 1992 Using other alternative energy sources by 2010 Reduce green house gas emission by other alternative energy sources Alternative Fuels Initiative (Summer 1998) Energy Smart Schools, to cut energy bills in schools and reinvest the savings in educating the nation's most valuable resource - our children. (Solar power panel started installing in schools) The Million Solar Roofs Initiative, announced in June, 1997, by President Clinton, to install solar energy systems on one million rooftops by the year 2010. The Energy Policy Act of 2005, the new national energy law signed by President Bush on August 8, 2005, valuable federal tax credits Financial Opportunity Federal, State and subsidize for consumer Grants, Federal funding for manufacturing and development

Conclusions Solar power source is abundant Many types of PV cells are in development to meet to PV Roadmap for future needs PV cells’ efficiency can be increased and underdevelopment Solar power from PV cell are safe and potentially growing