Photovoltaics: Present Status and Future Prospects

Abstract

This report provides an overview of recent developments in photovoltaics (PV) efficiencies, production costs, and deployment and discusses how these advances created the potential for photovoltaics to become a major contributor in energy markets throughout the world. Specifically the report deals with the following topics: (a) PV market evolution; (b) photovoltaic materials and devices; (c) PV manufacturing present status and prospects; (d) efficiency advancements for current and evolving technologies; (e) sustainability and life cycle assessments, and (f) the intermittency challenge. The technologies described in this report are crystalline silicon (c-Si), amorphous silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS), copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS), dye-sensitized solar cells, and organic photovoltaics (OPV)