Photovoltaic Solar Energy Generation

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XII

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2. What Is Photovoltaics?

   Pages 1-10

3. Physics of Solar Cells

   Pages 11-21

4. Silicon Solar Cell Material and Technology

   Pages 23-41

5. Crystalline Thin-Film Silicon

   Pages 43-55

6. Other Materials, New Concepts, and Future Developments

   Pages 57-84

7. Solar Cells and Solar Modules

   Pages 85-94

8. PV Systems

   Pages 95-111

9. PV Systems: Installation Possibilities

   Pages 113-135

10. Environmental Impacts by PV Systems

    Pages 137-146

11. Efficiency and Performance of PV Systems

    Pages 147-161

12. PV Markets Support Measures and Costs

    Pages 163-185

13. The Future of PV

    Pages 187-193

14. Other (Perhaps Competing) CO2-Free Energy Sources

    Pages 195-214

15. Popular Killing Arguments Against PV and Why They Are Not Valid

    Pages 215-220

16. Back Matter

    Pages 221-234

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The intention of this book is to provide an impression of all aspects of p- tovoltaics (PV). It is not just about physics and technology or systems, but it looks beyond that at the entire environment in which PV is embedded. The ?rst chapter is intended as an introduction to the subject. It can also be considered an executive summary. Chapters 2–4 describe very brie?y the basic physics and technology of the solar cell. The silicon cell is the vehicle for this description because it is the best understood solar cell and also has the greatest practical importance. A reader who is not interested in the ph- ical details of the solar cell can skip Chap.2 and still understand the rest of the book. In general, it was the intention of the authors to keep the book at a level that does not require too much previous knowledge of photovoltaics. Chapter5isdevotedtoothermaterialsandnewconceptspresentlyunder- velopment or consideration. It intends to provide an impression of the many possibilities that exist for the conversion of solar radiation into electricity by solid state devices. These new concepts will keep researchers occupied for decades to come. Chapter 6 gives an introduction to cell and module techn- ogy and also informs the reader about the environmental compatibility and recycling of modules. The following chapters are devoted to practical applications. Chapters 7 and 8 introduce systems technology for di?erent applications. The envir- mental impact of PV systems and their reliability is the subject of Chap.9.

• Applications of photovoltaics
• Markets of PV
• PV in distributed energy systems
• Photovoltaic technology and materials
• Photovoltaics
• Solar energy
• solar cell

• School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA

  William T. Rhodes

• Faculty of Engineering, Hokkai-Gakuen University, Sapporo Hokkaido, Japan

  Toshimitsu Asakura

• Institute of Computer Engineering, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany

  Karl-Heinz Brenner

• Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Garching, Germany

  Theodor W. Hänsch, Ferenc Krausz

• Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, National Institution for Academic Degrees, Tokyo, Japan

  Takeshi Kamiya

• Photonics Institute, Vienna University of Technology, Wien, Austria

  Ferenc Krausz

• Department of Physics and Measurement Technology, Materials Science Division, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

  Bo Monemar

• Heinrich-Hertz-Institut für Nachrichtentechnik Berlin GmbH, Berlin, Germany

  Herbert Venghaus

• Optisches Institut, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

  Horst Weber

• Sektion Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany

  Harald Weinfurter

• Fraunhofer ISE, Freiburg

  Adolf Goetzberger, Volker U.Hoffmann

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