PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE OF PHOTOVOLTAICS

PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE OF PHOTOVOLTAICS
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(7th July, 2012)
PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE OF PHOTOVOLTAICS
PV or Photovoltaic (in long form) is a way/ method of generating common electrical power by converting sunlight /solar radiation into d.c (direct current) electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic electricity generation employs solar panels composed of solar cells containing photovoltaic materials. Presently, materials used for photovoltaics include amorphous silicon, copper indium gallium selenide/sulfide, polycrystalline silicon, cadmium telluride, and monocrystalline silicon. Due to the rising demand for renewable sources of power, the manufacturing of photovoltaic arrays and solar cells and has been developing considerably in recent years (Perlin 1999).
Technological improvements, increased economies of scale and manufacturing experience have allowed PV manufacturers to lower costs of production, and thereby, stimulate the market. But policy has also been an equally important factor as we shall see later, and in some instances, the most important driver of an industry boom (e.g. rapid growth in German and Spanish markets) that could rival global experience in computation and communications. The key policy instruments spurring the expansion of PVs include market and tax incentives (e.g. rebates, tax credits and feed-in tariffs., renewable portfolio standards, regulations, new building codes that now call for zero-energy capable operation, and solar power mandates) an public research and development (Komp 1995).
Solar photovoltaic use is growing rapidly. This means that we are at now reaching a total global capacity of 67,400 megawatts at the end of 2011. This represents 0.5 percent of worldwide energy demand. Currently, the world`s total PV power capacity run over a calendar year is equal to 80 billion kWh of electricity (more or less). This is enough to cover the annual power supply needs of some twenty million households in the world. More than 100 countries use solar Photovoltaics. Installations may be built into the walls or the roof of a building (building-integrated photovoltaics) or ground-mounted (and sometimes integrated with farming and grazing).
Driven by increases in manufacturing scale and sophistication and technological advances, the cost of photovoltaics has declined steadily since the first solar cells were manufactured. The LCOE (levelised cost of electricity) from PV is very competitive with conventional electricity sources in an ever expanding list of geographic regions. Financial incentives like preferential feed-in tariffs for solar power and net metering have supported solar Photovoltaic installations in many countries. With current technology, photovoltaics recoup the energy needed to manufacture them in 1 to 4 years (Komp 1995).
In recent years, photovoltaic systems have appeared in businesses and on people`s homes all over the United States. The desire to utilize the sun to power people`s electricity needs, believe it or not is anything but novel. Ever since scientists stumbled upon photovoltaic materials that produce electrical energy by being exposed to light, people have always been excited. Let us get ready to dive into the exciting and ever-expanding world of solar power.
It helps to have an understanding and good comprehension of where the technology came from, where it is at now, and where it is going, to truly appreciate this Photovoltaic technology. In 1839, French scientist and Physicist, A.E. Becquerel first discovered photovoltaic materials. Becquerel had basically stumbled upon the operating principle for modern PV cells. After this, various scientists and other physicists juggled and played with Becqurel`s work and finally improved on his original discovery. Bell labs went on to create the first piece of PV technology designed for use in space in the 1950s. This technology found its way back down to earth for use in telecommunications applications in remote areas. In the 1970`s and 80`s, people began to use PV modules to charge batteries and then used those batteries to power up various appliances and lights in their remote homes. These early pioneers of PV helped set the stage for today`s PV industry.
Over the course of the twentieth century, the energy sector became heavily dependent on fossil fuels and, recently, uranium for nuclear reactors. Although the share of fossil fuels in global energy supply has slightly decreased from 1980 levels (when they comprised 91 percent of worldwide commercial energy supply) by the end of 2008, fossil fuels still supplied 87 percent of primary global energy. When nuclear energy is included, the conventional energy supply system is the source of 93 percent of current energy use. Due to high fuel prices and long term environmental implications of fossil energy use, the existing energy supply structure is regarded by many as no longer viable (Komp 1995).
Although significant cost reductions have been achieved, currently electricity produced from PV is not cost competitive with various conventional sources. National and local governments have supported PV deployment through a broad range of incentive, tax, regulatory and R&D instruments that include tax credits and exemptions, preferential interest rates and loan programs, direct incentives (for example, performance based incentives, capital subsidies), building code mandates, feed-in tariffs, renewable portfolio standards, voluntary green power programs, net metering, interconnection standards and "demonstration" or pilot projects. Other policy leaders for PV development have been Germany, Spain, Japan, and South Korea.
In recent years, federal and state policies have facilitated strong use for PV systems in the US. In 1998, the US had only 100mwp of installed PV capacity. Ten years later cumulative PV installations have reached 1.2gwp of which 68 percent are grid connected. On the national level, the modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS) and the solar investment tax credit (ITC), a tax depreciation rule for PV and other capital equipment, have played key roles in reducing PV developer costs (Perlin 1999).
The ITC was first established in 1978 under the energy tax act, which provided a tax credit of 15 percent of installed cost for solar energy installations. The tax reform act of 1986 gradually the ITC to 10 percent, and it remained at this level until 2005. The tax reform act also introduced MACRS depreciation rules for commercial entities allowing PV installations for the business sector to qualify for rapid 5-year tax depreciation.
In addition to federal policies supporting PV installations and deployment in the US, an increasing number of states have used two instruments to improve PV marketability. One is a policy called a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) in which load serving entities (LSEs) in the electricity sector must provide a fraction of their electricity from PV or distributed renewable energy technologies ( which also includes PV). By the end of 2009, 29 states and the District of Columbia had broad RPS mandates. Importantly, 14 states and the District of ...