Global green energy conversion revolution in 21&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; century through solid state devices

2009

J. Nanophoton

Rising demands of energy in emerging economies, coupled with the green house gas emissions related problems around the globe have provided a unique opportunity of exploiting the advantages offered by photovoltaic (PV) systems for green energy electricity generation. Similar to cell phones, power generated by PV systems can reach over two billion people worldwide who have no access to clean energy. Only silicon based PV devices meet the low-cost manufacturing criterion of clean energy conversion (abundance of raw material and no environmental health and safety issues). The use of larger size glass substrates and manufacturing techniques similar to the ones used by the liquid crystal display industry and the large scale manufacturing of amorphous silicon thin films based modules (~ GW per year manufacturing at a single location) can lead to installed PV system cost of $3/Wp. This will open a huge market for grid connected PV systems and related markets. With further research and development, this approach can provide $2/Wp installed PV system costs in the next few years. At this cost level, PV electricity generation is competitive with any other technology, and PV power generation can be a dominant electricity generation technology in the 21st century.

“…The importance of nanostructures for future generation of solar cells is discussed in Sec. 3. Concentrator and organic solar cells are examined in the following two sections.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Why silicon is and will remain the dominant photovoltaic material

2009

J. Nanophoton

“…In MIEL conference of 2008, we stressed that nuclear energy is neither economical nor safe [9]. Three Mile Island accident of 1979, Chernobyl disaster of 1986, and Fukushima nuclear accident of 2011 are serious reminders to mankind about the safety issues of nuclear energy.…”

Section: Potential Of Photovoltaics For Conversion Of Solar Energmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In order to create huge PV markets, the following selection criterion must be used in the selection of appropriate photovoltaic module manufacturing technology: (a) no material supply constraint, (b) low cost of ownership, (c) low production cost, (d) the prospect of further cost reduction, and (e) green manufacturing with no environmental safety and health issues. In previous publications we have discussed the fundamentals of photovoltaic manufacturing [9,[11][12]. In this paper only key points are summarized.…”

Section: A Manufacturing and System Integrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photovoltaics: Emerging role as a dominant electricity generation technology in the 21<sup>st</sup> century

2012 28th International Conference on Microelectronics Proceedings

Alapatt

Poole

2012

Self Cite

Photovoltaics (PV) offer a unique opportunity to solve the 21st century's electricity generation problem because solar energy is essentially unlimited and PV systems provide electricity without any undesirable impact on the environment. With current technology of silicon based PV systems, volume manufacturing , appropriate business model and without any subsidy, PV electricity can be generated today at the cost of less than $0.10/Wp. Silicon based PV systems will continue to dominate the PV market. Multi-junction PV systems based on Si and other abundant materials have the potential of manufacturing the next generation of ultra-low cost PV modules. For storing PV electricity there are many directions that have the potential of providing a low-cost solution. Overall, the future of PV electricity generation for rich and poor all over the world is bright.

“…Nuclear energy is not cost-effective [34]. The two-nuclearplant project of Georgia Power is at least $737 million over budget, and the company has also decided to harvest 535 MW as solar energy [35].…”

Section: Technology Readinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging role of photovoltaics for sustainably powering underdeveloped, emerging, and developed economies

2nd International Conference on Green Energy and Technology

Asif

Venayagamoorthy

et al. 2014

With the advent of low-cost solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and our ability to generate, store, and use electrical energy locally without the need for long-range transmission, the world is about to witness transformational changes in electricity infrastructures. The use of DC electricity enhances systemwide efficiency. DC microgrids and nanogrids powered by solar PV systems and gigawatt batteries for electricity storage can sustainably power the needs of all human beings equitably and empower every individual. Ultralarge-scale manufacturing of PV systems and batteries, a vertically integrated business model, and a targeted monetary policy of quantitative easing can rapidly power all human activities.