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PV Module Technologies The photovoltaic module forms the heart of the PV system from the perspective of performance, cost, and reliability. The module represents 50%–55% of the overall installed cost of a PV system. Because of the significance of the module’s impact on system performance, cost, and reliability, the Solar Program’s R&D investment emphasis has historically been on exploring a variety of pathways to increase module performance, reduce costs, and increase reliability. Current commercially available module technology can be broadly grouped into three categories: 1. Wafer-based silicon (single- and multicrystalline) 2. Thin film (polycrystalline cadmium telluride [CdTe], copper indium gallium diselenide [CIGS], and amorphous Si [a-Si]) 3. Concentrating PV (single-crystalline Si and III-V multijunction cells). To further accelerate the adoption of PV technologies into the marketplace, the PV industry, in partnership with the Solar Program, has invested in R&D to affect performance, cost, and reliability improvements in all three module technology categories. A brief introduction to each of these module technologies is given below. Wafer-Based Crystalline Si. Wafer-based Si is based on the concept of fabricating discrete solar cells from silicon wafers that have been sawn from a silicon boule or ingot, or cut from a thinly grown multicrystalline sheet. The cells are then electrically interconnected to form a module. Historically and currently, wafer-based crystalline-silicon (c-Si) technologies have held the majority of the market for PV modules, with more than 90% market share in 2004. As volumes of c-Si product sales have grown and the technology’s performance has advanced, c-Si technologies have continued to show steady improvement in cost that have tracked along a 20% learning curve in price reductions. Although volume effects work together with technology improvements to decrease the price of c-Si modules, recent scholarship2 strongly suggests that technology improvements have made the most significant contribution to price reductions in PV module technology. Many of these technological advances can be traced directly to very successful Solar Program/industry initiatives and partnerships. Thin Films. Thin-film technologies are designed to minimize semiconductor material costs by using thin layers— about 1 to 2 micrometers in thickness. Thin films also offer potential cost advantages by using large substrates (several square meters or even continuous sheets), more automation, and simpler cell interconnect schemes. They can also be made in a variety of forms, both flexible and rigid. In 2004, thin-film technologies as a category (including CdTe, CIGS, and a-Si) held slightly less than 10% of the worldwide market, but have continued to grow along with the market as a whole. Although this level of market share has been fairly constant over the last several years, in 2004 several thin-film manufacturers gained increased traction in the market, bringing them closer to the kinds of volume production that will help realize the cost potential of these technologies. Over the long term (2020), it is anticipated that the manufacturing costs of thin films could be significantly lower than those of c-Si technologies. The key to thin film’s ability to gain additional market share is in realizing these manufacturing cost advantages, while closing the gap between production and laboratory cell efficiencies and achieving competitive reliability. The difference between laboratory best-cell efficiencies and those of commercial thin-film modules (about 1 m2 in area) is based on several challenges, including: processes that can be uniform over large areas at reasonable speeds; processes where control can be maintained to achieve high yields; the introduction of lower-cost processes, where possible; a proper cell interconnect and module packaging design; the assurance of intrinsic cell stability; and the assurance of outdoor reliability of an encapsulated module. These are technically and financially challenging goals and objectives. 2 G. Nemet, 2005. “Technical Change in Photovoltaics and the Applicability of the Learning Curve Model.” Draft Paper, IIASA, UC-Berkeley. 29PDF Image | Solar Energy Technologies Program
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