Book description
A major update of solar cell technology and the solar marketplace
Since the first publication of this important volume over a decade
ago, dramatic changes have taken place with the solar market growing
almost 100-fold and the U. S. moving from first to fourth place in the
world market as analyzed in this Second Edition. Three bold new
opportunities are identified for any countries wanting to improve
market position. The first is combining pin solar cells with 3X
concentration to achieve economic competitiveness near term. The
second is charging battery-powered cars with solar cellÂ-generated
electricity from arrays in surrounding areasÂ-including the car
owners' homesÂ-while simultaneously reducing their home electricity
bills by over ninety percent. The third is formation of economic
"unions" of sufficient combined economic size to be major competitors.
In this updated edition, feed-in tariffs are identified as the most
effective approach for public policy. Reasons are provided to explain
why pin solar cells outperform more traditional pn solar cells. Field
test data are reported for nineteen percent pin solar cells and for
~500X concentrating systems with bare cell efficiencies approaching
forty percent. Paths to bare cell efficiencies over fifty percent are
described, and key missing program elements are identified. Since
government support is needed for new technology prototype integration
and qualification testing before manufacturing scale up, the key
economic measure is identified in this volume as the electricity cost
in cents per kilowatt-hour at the complete installed system level,
rather than just the up-front solar cell modules' costs in dollars per watt.
This Second Edition will benefit technologists in the fields of solar
cells and systems; solar cell researchers; power systems designers;
academics studying microelectronics, semiconductors, and solar cells;
business students and investors with a technical focus; and government
and political officials developing public policy.
Lewis M. Fraas, PhD, is the founder and President of JX Crystals Inc.
He has spearheaded the development of high-power-density photovoltaic
cells and complete concentrating photovoltaic and thermophotovoltaic
systems. Dr. Fraas wrote the first paper describing the forty
percent-efficient triple-junction concentrator solar cell now entering
high-volume production, and his group at Boeing demonstrated the first
thirty-five percent-efficient dual-junction cell.
Larry D. Partain, PhD, is Director of Marketing and Advanced
Technology, initiating and managing high-risk/high-payoff R&D
programs for Varian Medical Systems. A prominent researcher in solar
cell and related X-ray imager technology, Dr. Partain recently led
efforts to develop high-performance X-ray and flat-panel imaging
medical systems, helping to create over 0 million in company sales.
