Photovoltaics from Milliwatts to Gigawatts. Tim Bruton
Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу Photovoltaics from Milliwatts to Gigawatts - Tim Bruton страница 7

Название: Photovoltaics from Milliwatts to Gigawatts

Автор: Tim Bruton

Издательство: John Wiley & Sons Limited

Жанр: Физика

Серия:

isbn: 9781119130062

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ in fundamental understanding, cell processing, and scale‐up of manufacturing (and subsequent drop‐off in product cost). I tend to use the conversion efficiency of solar cells from solar radiation to useful electricity as a criterion for assessing the progress of particular technologies, but with the caveat that high efficiency must be achieved cost‐effectively. Throughout the period in question, I was principally involved at BP Solar and then at NaREC in silicon solar cell design and manufacturing, although along the way I also had responsibilities for thin‐film silicon, cadmium telluride, III‐V cells, and concentrators. I have taken the opportunity to detail progress in these areas, but also to give my own explanation for why they have not been able to displace silicon as the prime solar cell material. The opinions expressed in this book are entirely my own and are not the views of any of my previous employers.

      1.1 Introduction

      This dramatic development of photovoltaic installations has been the work of many inspired individuals. Their stories are told in other places [5–7]. The aim of this book is to describe how the technology changed from small‐area solar cells of 10% efficiency conversion of sunlight to electricity to the mass‐production cells of today, with efficiencies in the range 20–24%, and the route to >30% becoming clear. The present chapter describes how the potential for photovoltaic conversion was first recognised and how it moved into the early stages of commercialisation as a high‐technology product for use in powering space satellites. Later chapters will describe how this space technology became a terrestrial one and the driving forces and technology developments that made it the global force it is today. Furthermore, the options for going beyond the current technology will be reviewed and the route to achieving terawatt global installations discussed.

Schematic illustration of the evolution of electricity-generating technologies to 2050.

      Source: DNV GL Energy Transition Outlook 2018

      1.2.1 The Early Years

      While the potency of the sun has been recognised from ancient times, its role has been mainly that of a source of heat and lighting [9]. It was only relatively recently that the connection between sunlight and electricity was established. Through the nineteenth century, there was an important discovery in this regard about once every decade. Probably the first connection between light and electricity was made by Edmond Becquerel in Paris in 1839 [10]. He observed the flow of an electric current when gold or platinum electrodes were immersed into an electrolyte (acidic or alkaline) and exposed to uneven solar radiation. Some ten years later, Alfred Smee in London observed a current in an electrochemical cell on exposure to intense light, which he called a ‘photo‐voltaic’ circuit – linking the Greek word for light phos and the name ‘Volta’, the original inventor of the galvanic cell [11].