SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGY AND SYSTEMS

Unit-I
Solar PV Technology: Advantages, Limitations, Current Status of PV technology, SWOT analysis of
PV technology. Types of Solar Cell, Wafer based Silicon Cell, Thin film amorphous silicon cell Thin
Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) Cell, Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CiGS) Cell, Thin film crystalline
silicon solar cell.

 Solar PV Technology:
A photovoltaic cell is a specific type of PN junction diode that is intended to convert light energy
into electrical power. These cells usually operate in a reverse bias environment. Photovoltaic cells
and solar cells have different features, yet they work on similar principles.

Photovoltaic cells are essential for turning incident light into electrical energy that can be used,
and their ability to function in a reverse bias situation emphasizes how specifically engineered they
are to maximize solar power.

It is interesting to note that despite the fact that these names may pertain to distinct facets of the
technology, their close proximity to the process of turning sunlight into electrical power makes
them often used interchangeably.

Photovoltaic Cell Structure

A photovoltaic (PV) cell, commonly known as a solar cell, is a device that directly converts light
energy into electrical energy through the photovoltaic effect. Here’s an explanation of the typical
structure of a silicon-based PV cell:

 Top Contact: This is the topmost layer of the PV cell, often made of a transparent conductive
material like indium tin oxide (ITO) or doped tin oxide. Its transparency allows sunlight to pass
through to the active layers beneath while also providing a path for the generated electrical
current to flow out of the cell. The top contact is also called Transparent Conductive Layer.

 Emitter Layer: Beneath the top contact layer is the emitter layer, which is typically a thin layer
of heavily doped (high concentration of impurities) n-type silicon. This layer facilitates the
movement of electrons generated by absorbed sunlight.
 Base Layer: Below the emitter layer lies the base layer, which is usually a thicker layer of
lightly doped (low concentration of impurities) p-type silicon. This layer helps in creating an
electric field within the cell by providing positively charged “holes” for the electrons to move
towards.
 Back Surface Field (BSF) Layer: In some PV cell designs, a back surface field layer is made
of heavily doped p-type silicon. It is added to the rear surface of the cell to further enhance the
collection of charge carriers (electrons and holes) and reduce recombination losses.

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 Back Contact: The bottom layer of the PV cell is the back contact or back electrode, which is
typically made of a conductive material like aluminum or silver. Its primary function is to
collect the generated electrons and provide an external path for the electrical current to flow out
of the cell.

Advantages
Solar photovoltaic
oltaic (PV) technology has many advantages, including:
 Clean energy: Solar PV systems produce energy without emitting greenhouse gases or
polluting the environment.

 Low maintenance: PV systems require little maintenance and have few moving parts.

 Reduced energy bills: PV systems can generate some of your own electricity, which can
lower your energy bills.

 Quiet: PV systems are quiet and can be used in urban areas and residential applications.

 rooftops or on the ground.

Easy to install: Solar panels can be installed on rooftops

 round efficiency: Solar systems work well in various climates.

Year-round

 Independence from the grid: PV systems can generate your own electricity, reducing
dependence on the grid.

 Increased home value: Installing solar energy can boost your property's value.

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  Climate versatility: Solar systems work well in various climates.

 Longevity: PV modules can continue to deliver reliable performance for up to 25 years.

Limitations
Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology has several limitations, including:
 Intermittent energy
Solar energy is only available when the sun is shining, and its output varies based on the
season and cloud cover.
 Efficiency
Solar panels are less efficient than other renewable energy sources, with most silicon solar
cells having an efficiency of around 15–20%.
 Space requirements
Solar farms require large areas of land with high solar insolation. For example, PV solar
power plants typically require at least one hectare of area per 1 MWh of output.
 High initial costs
The initial cost of purchasing a solar system can be high, including the cost of the panels,
inverter, batteries, wiring, and installation.
 Energy storage
Energy storage solutions are expensive and can increase the price of solar PV systems. Solar
batteries also have a limited storage capacity.
 Transmission
Solar farms may require expensive transmission lines to connect to the grid.
 Fragility
Photovoltaic panels are fragile and can be easily damaged.
 Weather dependence
Solar PV systems are highly dependent on weather conditions and lack stability due to the
variation in solar radiation.
 Shading and soiling
Solar PV modules are sensitive to shading and soiling, and can underperform or even become
a fire hazard if not maintained.

 Current Status of PV technology

Rapid depletion of conventional energy resources, concern about environment and continuous
increment in demand of energy have forced the researcher to investigate the PV technology for large
scale energy generation and applications both in standalone and grid connect means without storage
configuration. Since 2000total growth of photovoltaic in world was calculated as 40% per year and
total installation capacity 139MW where Germany is having most cumulative installations and in
Italy generates highest percentage of solar electricity approximate 70%.As PV energy source is one
of the best option of future energy requirements of the world .At present PV energy market’s
demand is increasing vastly with an annual rate of 35-40% with 10.66GW energy production that
increased in 2009.. Rapid growth of PV market starts since 1980s when multi-megawatt PV plants

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started to use for power generation that is similar to telecommunication and computer sector
progress. Maximum growth of PV market’s mainly founded in European country where the annual
production of PV cells or modules 595MW (United State), (1.5GW (Japan) and 5.19GW (China)
respectively. During the period of 2010, PV market growth is unprecedented. The cumulative
electrical energy production from global PV installations in 2010 is higher than half of the electricity
demand in Greece or the entire electricity demand of African countries. In 2014, it increased
40.1GW (28%) which reached 178GW till the end of year and Asia becomes fastest growing region,
with more than 60% global installation.

On the other side if we discuss about the current status and growth of PV market’s in India similar to
other country then Indian government are also supporting in the development of PV technology with
renewable energy based electricity production that starts from 31May2016with the capacity of
7,568MW and targeted as 100,000MW till 2022.India is at the first position in solar power
production per watt installed with an insolation of 1700 to 1900 KWhour/KWpeak.In because in
India ,there are some specific constraints and features that helps in development and production of
solar energy: easy availability of sun light maximum time of the year..In January 2015, Indian
government significantly expanded its solar plants, with a target of US$100billionof investment and
100GWof solar capacity including 40,000MW from roof top solar by 2022.On 16 May 2011, India’s
first 5MWcapacity power plant was registered under the clean Development Mechanism. Globally,
the solar PV grid connected capacity has increased from 7.6GW in 2007 to 13.5GW in 2008 and
21GW at the end of 2009.India is located in the equatorial sun belt of the earth and thereby receiving
maximum radiant energy from the sun. In India, most of parts having cleared sunny weather atleast
250 to 300 days of a year. Now for the development and for increasing the interest of the people
towards the development and use of solar energy resources, Indian government launched a solar
mission named Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission with a target of achieving 300GW till
2022.According to IEA; India will append 600GW to 1200GW of power generation capacity before
2050.

Historical Growth of Solar Energy in India: India is the first country where a Ministry of
nonconventional energy resource was set up before 1980, having several developmental programmes
and demonstrating projects for solar techniques. In 2006, Rural Electrification Program was the first
step of Indian Government that was helpful in recognizing the importance of solar power guidelines
for the implementation of off-grid solar applications. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
has set up a Solar Energy Centre (SEC) that is dedicated for development of solar energy
technologies and to promote its applications through product development. In 2009, MNRE
launched “Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM)” with the ambitious goal of making
India a global leader in solar energy. JNNSM plans a three-phase approach with specific targets for
each phase. The JNNSM is encouraging the production of both PV& CSP technology with equal
weight age. This Governmental mission has deployed 20 GW of solar power by 2022 which is
shown below in Table 1.

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Challenges and Future Scope of Solar Energy Development in India: Solar energy will becomes
as a crucial component of India’s energy portfolio in coming decades, perhaps more compare to
other countries. National Action Plan (NAPIC) based on climate change in India identifies eight
critical missions for promoting climate mitigations and adaption. It is doing efforts for increasing the
use of solar technologies in urban areas, industry and for commercial establishment. There are
various factors and challenges that can put their effect on the growth of solar energy: industry
demand, supply cost of solar power generation and disparity in solar potential across states. India
suffers from persistent energy shortage with average demand supply gap revolving around 12% of
total power supply and also solar industries are still in nascent stage that are facing challenges of
high cost of solar power generation. In India, cost of solar electricity produced on-grid is Rs.
18.44/unit. This high cost is mainly due to dependence on imports for silicon and solar wafers used
for the manufacture of solar cells – about 80% of which comes through imports. Another major
factor restricting the growth of this sector is the lack of standards, resulting in the fragmentation of
the market among manufacturers and suppliers. On the other side, current power generation in India
is heavily dependent on non-renewable natural resources such as coal and diesel, whose fast
depletion has forced the government and the power generation companies to look into renewable
energy sources, especially solar power.

Indian Power Sector:

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 Solar Projects in India till 2013:

 SWOT analysis of PV technology.

SOLAR energy, the clean, abundant and renewable energy source can be utilized by panels for
generation of electricity in form of Photovoltaic technology. Once a solar panel is installed, solar
energy can be produced free-of-charge and does not produce any pollution. Solar cells make
absolutely no noise at all. On the other hand, the giant machines utilized for pumping oil are
extremely noisy and therefore very impractical. Moreover, very little maintenance is needed to keep
solar cells running. There are no moving parts in a solar cell which makes it impossible to really
damage them. In the long term, there can be a high return on investment due to the amount of free
energy a solar panel can produce.
PV systems provide secure investments being environment friendly and emission free. Application
areas of PV are not limited to agriculture and industry alone but personal and planetary sustainability
too. Though there are number of RET’s like Solar, Wind, Ocean, Geothermal, Biomass and waste
energy, Solar being most abundant has vast energy potential. Solar appears to be the largest
contributor among RET’s and investment in this sector is consistently increasing by 20-25% per
annum.
The solar technology features (i) Increasing efficiency of solar cells (ii) Manufacturing technical
improvements and (iii) Economies of scale. As such, solar finds three main applications in areas of
(1) Solar Thermal (ST) related to concentrated collectors capturing sunlight, (2) Solar Photovoltaic’s
(PV) working on photoelectric conversion and (3) Solar Hydro (SH) using perennial streams of
water.

SWOT ANALYSIS FOR PV INDUSTRY IN INDIA

The major challenge in successful completion of sustainable standard after surveying various
Applications based on PV panel can be determined by value concerns through following four main
industry segments. A SWOT survey for Indian PV industry is given below:

Strengths:
(i) Future of India is poised to be a major solar power.
(ii) Union Cabinet approves 25 solar projects for India’s SunShot initiative.
(iii) JNNSM is accompanied with Ultra mega solar power plants in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu
and Ladakh (Budget 2014-15)
(iv) Sunlight availability is sufficient and adaptable to shade or no sun conditions.
(v) Technology is proven, scalable with low operation and maintenance costs.

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 (vi) Availability of soft loans and government incentives for growth and expansion.

Weaknesses:
(i) Government incentives required to embark more facilities and subsidies for solar ventures.
(ii) High capital and space costs for establishment of grid utility plant.
(iii) Large business generally preferred due to capital intensive nature.
(iv) Distributed System designs cause base load difficulties.
(v) Research and development projects simulation designs for shaded conditions are not up taken.

Opportunities:
(i) Ambitious targets of Government for solar projects.
(ii) PV Developers to get easy statutory and clearances on projects.
(iii) Thrust on grid connected Defense establishments.
(iv) Priority sector implementation of rooftop houses in remote areas with Government financing.
(v) Formation of Association of Renewable Energy Agencies of States (AREAS) to continuously
monitor watch of solar programmers.
(vi) High innovative Green jobs in market by The Council on Energy, Environment and Water
(CEEW) research institution through high-quality research by partnerships with public and private
institutions.

Threats:
(i) High risks of obsolescence as novel technology.
(ii) Cash flow reduction in off season.
(iii) Searching professionally skilled persons for PV industries.

 Types of Solar Cell

1. Wafer based Silicon Cell
Wafer-based silicon cells are the most common type of solar cell used in commercial
photovoltaic (PV) modules and are a key technology in renewable energy. They are made
from silicon wafers, which are semiconductor substances shaped like fragile discs.

2. Thin film amorphous silicon cell

Thin film amorphous silicon solar cells are manufactured by placing several thin layers of
photovoltaic on top of each other to creates the module. There are actually a few different
types of thin film amorphous silicon solar cell, and the way in which they differ from each
other comes down to the material used for the PV layers
3. Thin Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) Cell
Thin Cadmium Telluride solar cells are manufactured by placing several thin layers of
photovoltaic on top of each other to creates the module. There are actually a few different
types of thin Cadmium Telluride solar cell, and the way in which they differ from each other
comes down to the material used for the PV layers

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4. Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CiGS) Cell,
Copper Indium Gallium Selenide solar cells are manufactured by placing several thin layers
of photovoltaic on top of each other to creates the module. There are actually a few different
types of Copper Indium Gallium Selenide solar cell, and the way in which they differ from
each other comes down to the material used for the PV layers

5. Thin film crystalline silicon solar cell.

Thin-film crystalline silicon solar cells are solar panels made by depositing a thin layer of
photovoltaic material on a substrate like glass, plastic, or metal. The thin layer of material is
called a thin film (TF)
Common materials used in thin-film solar cells include:
 Cadmium telluride (CdTe)
 Copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS)
 Amorphous thin-film silicon (a-Si, TF-Si)

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