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Textbook Materials Challenges Inorganic Photovoltaic Solar Energy 1St Edition Stuart J C Irvine Ebook All Chapter PDF
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RSC Energy & Environment Series
Materials Challenges
Inorganic Photovoltaic Solar Energy
Series Editors:
Laurence Peter, University of Bath, UK
Heinz Frei, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA
Roberto Rinaldi, Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, Germany
Tim S. Zhao, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
Edited by
Stuart J C Irvine
Centre for Solar Energy Research, OpTIC Centre, Glyndwr University,
St Asaph, UK
Email: s.irvine@glyndwr.ac.uk
RSC Energy and Environment Series No. 12
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of research for non-commercial purposes or for
private study, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988 and the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003, this publication may not
be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior
permission in writing of The Royal Society of Chemistry, or in the case of reproduction in
accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK,
or in accordance with the terms of the licences issued by the appropriate Reproduction
Rights Organization outside the UK. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the
terms stated here should be sent to The Royal Society of Chemistry at the address printed
on this page.
The RSC is not responsible for individual opinions expressed in this work.
v
vi Preface
2.1 Introduction 27
2.1.1 The Sun and Solar Energy 28
2.1.2 History of Exploiting Solar Electricity 29
2.2 Fundamentals of PV Materials 30
2.2.1 Electrical Properties of Inorganic Materials 30
2.2.2 Doping of Semiconductors 30
2.2.3 Band Structure of Solar Absorbers 32
vii
viii Contents
3.1 Introduction 53
3.2 Planar Thin Film Crystalline Silicon Technology 54
3.2.1 Crystallisation of Amorphous Silicon 54
3.2.2 Seed Layer Approaches 57
3.2.3 Li-Off and Epitaxy Approaches 64
3.2.4 Plasmonic Enhancement in Thin Crystalline
Silicon Cells 66
3.3 Silicon Nanowire Solar Cells 69
3.3.1 SiNW Growth using the Vapour–Liquid–Solid
Method 70
3.3.2 Etched SiNWs and Solar Cells 76
3.4 Conclusions 81
References 82
4.1 Introduction 89
4.2 Practical Challenges Facing TCOs 91
4.2.1 Elemental Abundance and Cost 91
4.2.2 Toxicity 91
4.2.3 Ease of Deposition 92
4.2.4 Stability 92
4.2.5 Contacting 92
4.3 Background Science 93
4.3.1 The Transmission Window 93
4.4 Binary Compounds 95
4.4.1 ZnO 95
Contents ix
Chapter 6 New Chalcogenide Materials for Thin Film Solar Cells 160
David W. Lane, Kyle J. Hutchings, Robert McCracken, and
Ian Forbes
Introduction and
Techno-economic Background
STUART J. C. IRVINE*a AND CHIARA CANDELISEb
a
Centre for Solar Energy Research, OpTIC, Glyndŵr University, St Asaph
Business Park, St Asaph LL17 0JD, UK; bImperial Centre for Energy Policy
and Technology (ICEPT), Imperial College London, 14 Princes Gardens,
London SW7 1NA, UK
*E-mail: s.irvine@glyndwr.ac.uk
1
2 Chapter 1
3
according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). In the same period the
balance was made up of 19% nuclear, 14% hydro and a mere 5% for other
renewable energy such as wind, solar and geothermal. However, this small
contribution from renewable energy has been increasing and was up by 1%
on the same period the previous year. Vries et al.4 have analysed the potential
mix of wind, solar and biomass (WSB) to 2050 and concluded that this could
be achieved at an energy cost of 10 US cents per kWh of energy, displacing
fossil fuel electricity generation.
Although the annual growth of the photovoltaic (PV) sector has been in the
range of 30 to 40% over the past 20 years, it is still at an early stage of
potential development both in terms of capacity and price. A number of
different scenarios exist to predict the future renewable energy mix that will
displace combustion of fossil fuels.5 For example, the World Business
Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) predicts 50% electricity
generated from renewable energy sources by 2050 with 15% generated by
solar PV.6 Other scenarios give a range for renewable energy generation from
31% from the IEA to a number of studies predicting 50%, including the
German Advisory Council on Climate Change, Greenpeace and Shell’s
sustainable development plan. All the scenarios consider PV solar energy to
be a signicant part of the energy mix though the extent of penetration into
the energy mix changes according to the different scenarios. Looking beyond
2050 the proportion of renewable energy and in particular PV solar energy
will continue to grow and the German Solar Industry Association predicts
that the proportion of PV solar electricity generation will increase to over 50%
of the mix by the end of the century. In a separate study by Fthenakis et al.7
which looked at the potential for combined PV and concentrator solar power
(CSP) in the USA, it was predicted that all the electrical energy could be
produced from the Sun combined with compressed air energy storage.
In 2011 over 25 GW of PV was installed worldwide, taking the cumulated
PV installations to over 50 GW. Most of these installations are based on
crystalline silicon (c-Si), but the share of thin lm PV has grown over the past
decade and currently stands at between 10 and 15%.
In terms of climate change there is a carbon cost in manufacture based on
the dependence of electricity used in PV module manufacture on fossil fuel
sources. The melting of silicon to form the c-Si requires a temperature of over
1400 C. In contrast, thin lm PV uses processing temperatures below 600 C
and therefore will require less energy. Pehnt8 carried out a lifecycle analysis
of c-Si PV module manufacture. With the current German energy mix, where
there is 566 g of CO2 per kWh of electricity, this leads to an emission of 100 g
of CO2 equivalent per kWh of electricity generated over the lifetime of the PV
module. As the proportion of non-fossil fuel energy sources in the energy mix
increases this could be halved to 50 g of CO2 equivalent per kWh. This
compares with around 10 g of CO2 equivalent per kWh for onshore wind and
1.5 MW hydropower. Other factors that will reduce this carbon emission are
the efficiency of solar energy conversion and processing temperatures. Thin
lm PV is currently less efficient than c-Si, roughly 10% compared with 15%
Introduction and Techno-economic Background 3
Figure 1.1 Lifecycle emissions (g CO2 equivalent per kWh) from different types of
silicon modules compared with thin lm CdTe for: Case 1 – the
current geographically specic production of Si; Case 2 – emissions
for upstream electricity used in production in Europe; and Case 3 –
emissions for equivalent production in the USA (aer Fthenakis et al.7).
but the process energy per square metre is less, which leads to an overall
reduction in CO2 emission. Fthenakis et al.7 estimated that less than 20 g CO2
equivalent per kWh was emitted for 9% efficient cadmium telluride modules.
Figure 1.1 illustrates that cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin lm PV is very
competitive in terms of environmental emissions compared with other
technologies. Recent improvements in efficiency in thin lm CdTe modules
to more than 12% would reduce carbon emissions to less than 15 g CO2
equivalent per kWh. From these estimates it is clear that the adoption of thin
lm PV modules will make an impact on reducing carbon emissions in PV
module manufacture.
In this book we examine the materials challenges for inorganic thin lm
PV that will inuence both the environmental impact and the economic
payback, as discussed later in this chapter.
compared with the silicon benchmark. For c-Si, the development of cast
multi-crystalline silicon has provided a cheaper alternative to single crystal
silicon with only a small penalty in loss of efficiency. By 2004 multi-crystalline
silicon single cell record efficiency had exceeded 20%.12
The earliest thin lm PV dates back to the late 1960s with the emergence of
amorphous silicon (a-Si) on glass substrates as a much cheaper and lower
energy option than the crystalline silicon cells.13,14 The rst a-Si solar cell
reports date back to 197615 but have never achieved the efficiency of the c-Si
counterparts. This is discussed in more detail regarding the fundamental
properties in Chapter 2 and in further detail in Chapter 3. In many respects,
the history of a-Si has established a cheaper alternative to c-Si and led the way
for the emergence of other thin lm materials. The techno-economic trade-
off between cost of manufacture and module efficiency is discussed later in
this chapter and provides a context for the remainder of the book. Single
junction a-Si cells have now achieved over 10% stabilised efficiency16 and
over 12% when combined in a tandem cell with a micro-crystalline junc-
tion.17 Early applications of a-Si solar cells were seen in consumer products
where the low cost and monolithic integration were important but longer
term stability was not as important as for larger scale power applications.
Monolithic integration of a-Si onto glass has enabled a range of architectural
applications to be explored that would have been difficult or impossible to
achieve with c-Si.
The origins of CdTe PV cells goes back to a Cu2Te/CdTe cell reported in
1976 by Cusano.18 This sparked a rapid increase in the possibilities for
compound semiconductor thin lm PV that included, around the same
time, the rst interest in the Chalcopyrite structure of copper indium
diselenide (CIS) with the work of Wagner et al.19 on single crystal material
and Kazmerski et al.20 on thin lm PV. Further developments on CIS thin
lm PV led to alloying with gallium to form CIGS where indium can be
substituted with gallium to change the bandgap of the absorber. For both
CIGS and CdTe cells the absorber is p-type and the preferred n-type
heterojunction material has become cadmium sulphide. Although early
commercialisation of thin lm PV was with a-Si, the more complex
polycrystalline chalcogenides have shown the potential to achieve higher
module efficiencies and good long-term stability. Large-scale thin lm
module manufacture of CdTe and CIGS modules has been demonstrated
by First Solar and Solar Frontier, respectively. The signicance of
manufacturing volume in the cost of module manufacture is discussed in
Section 1.4 along with the signicance of continual improvements of
module conversion efficiency.
The past 20 years have seen the development of many alternative materials
and designs for PV solar cells suitable for a range of different applications.
The drive for low cost materials and low temperature processing has gener-
ated a huge amount of research in dye sensitised solar cells (DSC) and
organic photovoltaics. The DSC owes its origins to photoelectrochemical
cells and the origins of this go back to Becquerel.9 The principal of these
Introduction and Techno-economic Background 5
Figure 1.2 Schematic of a dye sensitised solar cell where an incident photon will
excite an electron in an absorbing dye molecule which is attached to
the surface of a TiO2 particle that can then pass into the transparent
conducting oxide (TCO). The charge neutrality of the dye is restored
through the iodide redox process at the back contact.
Figure 1.3 Schematic showing the relationship between cell efficiency and cost for
the three generations of solar cells, with the dotted lines showing the
trajectories for different cost per Wp (aer Conibeer27).
Figure 1.4 The 85 kWp thin lm PV façade at the OpTIC building in St Asaph, North
Wales, generating 70 MWh of electricity per year. The modules are Shell
ST36 CIS and the total array area is 1176 m2.
effect is actually created from a series of at panels and strings are aligned
with panels of similar elevation to avoid losses as the elevation of the Sun
changes during the day. This façade has been in operation now for 10 years
and the CIS thin lm panels continue to perform well with similar output to
their initial performance.
The following discussion focuses on the costs of the PV module, being the
major contributor to the total PV system costs (ranging from 35 to 55%
depending on the PV system type and application35,36) and being at the centre
of most of the available cost reduction and PV roadmapping literature.37–40
Indeed, analysis and evolution of PV module production costs over time can
also help to shed light on future research and technology development
priorities as well as in dening successful policy support to emerging tech-
nologies and energy technology strategies.33
PV module prices have experienced sustained reductions over time. The
price dropped from about 90 $ per Wp in the 1970s to about 5 $ per Wp in the
early 2000s.41,42 The impressive PV market growth of the last decade (world-
wide cumulative installed capacity increased from 1.4 GW in 2000 to over 67
GW in 201143), coupled with continuous industrial and R&D developments
over time, allowed further price reductions.33,37–40,44 In particular, PV module
prices have dropped dramatically in the last couple of years, falling by about
45% between mid-2010 and March 2012 (Figure 1.6).41
Such impressive historical reductions reect the development and deploy-
ment of c-Si technologies, which still account for the majority of the PV
market (about 87% in 201145). Indeed, as estimated by the experience curves
literature, c-Si module technologies have shown an historical learning rate of
the order of 20% (ranging from 18 to 22% depending on studies and reference
dataset used33). In other words, this means a reduction of about 20% in c-Si
module prices for every doubling of production capacity (see also Figure 1.7).
The recent dramatic drop in c-Si prices is due to a combination of the
following factors (see ref. 33 and 46 for more details):
Figure 1.6 PV module retail price index, 2003–2012. The gures presented are
average retail prices in Europe and the USA based on a monthly
online survey. They encompass a wide range of module prices,
varying according to the module technology (with thin lm modules
generally cheaper than c-Si), the module model and manufacturer, its
quality, as well as the country in which the product is purchased. For
example, in March 2012 average retail module prices were 2.29 $
per Wp in the USA and 2.17 V per Wp in Europe, respectively, but the
lowest retail price for a c-Si solar module was 1.1 $ per Wp (0.81 V
per Wp) and the lowest thin lm module price was 0.84 $ per Wp
(0.62 V per Wp). Source: ref. 41.
Figure 1.7 The historical PV module price experience curve, 1979–2011. Data points
aer 2011 are estimated. Source: ref. 50.
Introduction and Techno-economic Background 13
2000s.58,59
It was the rst manufacturer to reduce unit production costs below
the 1 $ per Wp threshold in 200960 (see also Figure 1.7). Similarly, Solar
Frontier, a CIS manufacturer approached a production capacity of 1 GW by
2011.61 Thin lm PV modules are currently the cheapest in the market with
average market prices ranging from 0.39 V per Wp for a-Si to 0.57 V per Wp
for CdTe in June 2013.48
However, despite the considerable technological developments introduced
in this chapter and further discussed in Chapters 3, 5 and 6, at plate thin lm
PV have not yet achieved module efficiencies comparable with c-Si technolo-
gies. This limits their ability to compete in the worldwide market against the
incumbent and more mature c-Si, as lower module efficiency makes them less
suitable for area constrained applications (such as most rooop applications)
and implies higher area related BOS costs (such as cabling and mounting
structures) which partially offset their lower module prices when PV system
CAPEX are considered. Indeed several thin lm companies have gone out of
business during the market consolidation recently experienced by the
worldwide PV industry. Among these are the more innovation driven
companies (e.g. Solyndra, United Solar, Soltecture, Odersun), targeting novel
and niche applications for thin lm PV technologies such as on exible
substrates or semi-transparent modules suitable for, for example, building
integrated solutions or rooop applications with weight-bearing limitations.
Figure 1.8 CdTe module production cost share for increasing scale of production.
Source: ref. 73.
14 Chapter 1
Figure 1.9 CIGS module production cost share for increasing scale of production.
Source: ref. 73.
and 1.9), indicating the need to optimise materials use in order to achieve
further cost reductions. An efficient use of input materials is particularly
relevant for CdTe and CIGS technologies, as concerns over scarcity (and
consequent high price) of key active materials, tellurium (Te) and indium
(In), have been highlighted as potential barriers to future market expansion
and cost reductions of those thin lm PV technologies relying on them.
Indeed, due to increased demand for both materials over the past decade, Te
and In prices have experienced increased volatility since mid-2000s, causing
unprecedented price highs. Driven by exponential demand coming from the
liquid crystal display (LCD) screen industry, the price of indium increased
dramatically from 85 $ per kg at the beginning of 2003 to 830 $ per kg by the
end of 2004,62 then rose again above 750 $ per kg in 201163 aer years of
volatility. Similarly, the tellurium price experienced an increase of more than
300% in 2005, reaching an annual average price of around 230 $ per kg (from
about 35 $ per kg in 2004), due to supply shortfall caused by demand
increases from China and solar cell manufacturers outside China.64 Tellu-
rium prices have been uctuating since, reaching values above 200 $ per kg in
201065 and above 400 $ per kg in 2011 (the average price in late 2011 was
around 300 $ per kg).66
In the past decade several contributions in the literature have attempted
to estimate the potential of thin lm PV technologies using scarce materials
such as Te and In to expand their production capacity in the future and to
contribute to the global warming mitigation challenge. A review of such
literature points out the differences in methods and assumptions taken by
the various contributors as well as the uncertainties behind critical mate-
rials resource assessment and currently available gures for Te and In
production and reserves.67 In particular, the potential to expand production
of In and Te is unclear, since data are poor and reporting has been reduced.
Resource data are largely absent and the economics of production is
Introduction and Techno-economic Background 15
Figure 1.10 CdTe cost breakdown for increasing technical grade tellurium price
(from 170 $ per kg to 700 $ per kg). Note changes over baseline case
scenario of 0.75 $ per Wp production cost, 170 $ per kg tellurium
price, 11.6% efficiency and large-scale production. Source: ref. 73.
Figure 1.11 CIGS-planar cost breakdown for increasing technical grade indium
price (from 685 $ per kg to 2000 $ per kg). Note changes over
baseline case scenario of 0.97 $ per Wp production cost, 685 $ per
kg indium price, 11% efficiency and large-scale production. Source:
ref. 73.
Figures 1.10 and 1.11) with consequent impact on unit production costs (as
shown in Figure 1.12 for CdTe—in this analysis 0.75 $ per Wp has been
assumed as the baseline unit production cost).73 However, this impact can be
eased by reducing the intensity of the cell’s materials. This can be achieved
by reducing the thickness of the active layer, by improving material
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