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High-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells: status and perspectives

High-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells: status and perspectives The year 2014 witnessed the breaking of the historic 25.0% power conversion efficiency record for crystalline silicon solar cells, which was set by the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia, in 1999.1,2 Almost simultaneously, Panasonic, Japan,3 and SunPower, USA,4 reported independently certified efficiencies of 25.6% and 25.0%, respectively, both using industrially-sized silicon wafers (see Fig. 1 and Table 1). In parallel, the increased production volumes and associated maturity of the technology have brought the cost of photovoltaic modules down to 0.62 US$/Wp (average price in 2014 according to the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics).5 Solar photovoltaic electricity has already reached grid parity in many countries and locations. While costs associated with cell processing typically account for less than 20% of the total module cost and only about 10% at the system level,5 increasing the power conversion efficiency of the solar cell offers a direct pathway to further reducing the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE).6–8 This review retraces recent advances in silicon solar cell technology towards that goal. The reader may be interested in consulting complementary reviews by Saga9 and Glunz.10 A detailed life cycle assessment including a discussion of indicators such as primary energy demand, energy payback time and greenhouse gas emissions can be found in ref. 11. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Energy & Environmental Science Royal Society of Chemistry

High-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells: status and perspectives

Battaglia, Corsin; Cuevas, Andres; De Wolf, Stefaan
Royal Society of Chemistry — May 9, 2016
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Abstract

The year 2014 witnessed the breaking of the historic 25.0% power conversion efficiency record for crystalline silicon solar cells, which was set by the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia, in 1999.1,2 Almost simultaneously, Panasonic, Japan,3 and SunPower, USA,4 reported independently certified efficiencies of 25.6% and 25.0%, respectively, both using industrially-sized silicon wafers (see Fig. 1 and Table 1). In parallel, the increased production volumes and associated maturity of the technology have brought the cost of photovoltaic modules down to 0.62 US$/Wp (average price in 2014 according to the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics).5 Solar photovoltaic electricity has already reached grid parity in many countries and locations. While costs associated with cell processing typically account for less than 20% of the total module cost and only about 10% at the system level,5 increasing the power conversion efficiency of the solar cell offers a direct pathway to further reducing the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE).6–8 This review retraces recent advances in silicon solar cell technology towards that goal. The reader may be interested in consulting complementary reviews by Saga9 and Glunz.10 A detailed life cycle assessment including a discussion of indicators such as primary energy demand, energy payback time and greenhouse gas emissions can be found in ref. 11.

Journal

Energy & Environmental Science – Royal Society of Chemistry

Published: May 9, 2016

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