THE CHALLENGE OF PV TECHNOLOGIES

Thomas BergerWenzel FialaHannes List

Physics of solar cells

Technologies of solar cells

Silicon solar cellMonocrystalline siliconPoly- or multicrystalline siliconRibbon silicon

Silicon thin-films amorphous siliconprotocrystalline silicon nanocrystalline silicon

Technologies of solar cells

Cadmium Telluride (CdTe)Thin-film, easy to deposit, large scale

productionCopper-Indium Selenide (CuInSe2)Thin film, high optical absorption

coefficientsGallium Arsenide (GaAs) MultijunctionMultiple thin films, Triple-junction cell,

each conductor absorb light most efficiently at a certain colour, absorp nearly the entire solar spectrum

Technologies of solar cells

Single Crystal Solar Cellhigh-purity material, excellent efficiencies and

long-term stability, too expensive for mass production

Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC)manufactured by screen printing, lowest-cost

solar cell

Organic/Polymer Solar CellsLow efficiency, mechanical flexibility

Nanocrystalline Solar Cellshigh surface area to increase internal reflections

and hence increase the probability of light absorption

Current use of PV-Technologies

Low power applications/solar chargers

Solar parks/power plants

Water pumping

Space applications

And many, many more

Efficiency in current PV-Technologies

Currently efficiencies of solar cells – maximum 20 %

In research labs they reach already 35 % and more

Theoretical calculations of up to 80 % in the future

The future of PV-Technologies

Many research groups in universities and research institutions around the world are currently active in the field of photovoltaics. This research can be divided into three areas:

Making current technology solar cells cheaper and/or more efficient

Developing new technologiesDeveloping new materials

Photovoltaic in Austria

Photovoltaic in Austria

• Funded since the mid-1980s• First program in 1992 („200 kW-

photovoltaic-broadtest“)• Today Vorarlberg has more than 1/3 of

Austrians PV-Powerplants

Photovoltaic in Austria

Installed performance: Accumulated performance:

Photovoltaic in Austria

• Till the end of 2006, 25.5 MWp has been installed

• Of this amount, 88% were run by grid-connection, 12 % autarchically

• There is an estimated amount of approximately 20 GWh/year PV-power in Austria

Photovoltaic in Austria

• Costs: • 49 Cents for plants < 5kW• 42 Cents for plants between 5-10 kW• 32 Cents for plants > 10 kW

Photovoltaic in Austria

20% scenario in Austria till 2050

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