Photovoltaic Energy Program Overview, Fiscal Year 1997
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Photovoltaic Energy Program Overview Fiscal Year 1997 U.S. Department of Energy Message from the Director he photovoltaic (PV) industry in the United States is booming, claiming a growing share of an expanding T worldwide market that grew 42% in 1997, from 89 mega- watts (MW) to 126 MW. The U.S. share of this market amounted to almost 53 MW, which is a 35% increase in one year. And our market share is now 42%Ñmarkedly improved from 1991, when U.S. companies accounted for only 31% of total sales. Operating at full capacity, with a backlog of orders and with man- Gretz, NREL/PIX03606 Warren ufacturing expansion in progress, the U.S. PV industry is poised James E. Rannels to take advantage of a rapidly changing marketplace. This year saw new products introduced, manufacturing processes improved, capacity expanded, and new materials explored. Conversion efficiencies for cells and modules continued to improve steadi- ly, and PV systems became more reliable. A solid foundation for the Million Solar Roofs Initiative, announced by President Clinton on June 26, 1997, was laid by the combination of steady research progress in laboratories and uni- versities, industry investment in new PV Sales Projections technology and capacity, and a bur- 1600 geoning market. To help reduce pro- duction of harmful greenhouse gases, 1400 Million Roofs Z8-B317503 the President called on the Depart- 1200 Business as Usual Z8-B317503 ment of Energy (DOE) to lead the 1000 effort to place one-million solar ener- gy systems on buildings and homes 800 across the nation by 2010. Half of Megawatts 600 these installations are planned for 400 photovoltaic systems. 200 The Million Solar Roofs Initiative will 0 1995 2000 2005 2010 help the PV industry develop a most Business-as-usual projections based on ÒPV Industry promising large-scale domestic mar- Overview: Domestic and International,Ó Robert ket. As domestic sales increase and Johnson, Mountain View, CA: Strategies Unlimited, prices decline, the industry will fur- 1996. The additions to business-as-usual projections ther enhance its competitive advan- are based on Million Solar Roofs goals. tage in the international market, where two-billion people have roofs PV Price Projections but no electricity. Photovoltaics can 30 generate electricity for these people, Z8-B317504 with less production of greenhouse 25 Z8-B317504 gases than using fossil fuels. 20 Although one-million roofs is a dra- 15 matic advance from where we are today, it is a modest goal compared 10 to PV's market and technical poten- 5 tial. I expect we will meet the PV Systems Costs (cents/kWh) Million Solar Roofs objective by 2010 0 and then far exceed it in the years 1995 2000 2005 2010 after. The Initiative adds to the Cost goals derived from ÒPV: The Power of Choice, National momentum that is building around PV Program Plan for 1996-2000,Ó DOE, 1996. the world for the use of solar power. ii PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY PROGRAM OVERVIEW FY1997 And it also complements the strong U.S. Market Share of World Production base of research and development that is the core of our PV Program. 80 70 Z8-B317507 The first step in the Initiative requires 60 nearly doubling the sales of PV prod- ucts made in the United States by 50 1999. By achieving 7,000 solar roofs by 40 1999 and reaching 1,000,000 in 2010, 30 we will be one of the first programs to 20 contribute to the President's goal of Market U.S. % of World reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emis- 10 0 sions below 1990 levels between 2010 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 and 2012. We will accomplish even Year more in developing countries, where Information is derived from Paul Maycock, PV greenhouse gas emissions are growing News, January 1998, v.17, n.1, and past issues. the fastest. Working in partnership, we have the opportunity to move PV to a new level of importance in the global energy mix. The DOE Office of PV and Wind Technologies will continue to support the domestic PV indus- try. At the beginning of FY 1997, DOE formed the National Center for Photovoltaics specifically to serve as a focal point for industry, end users, and the research community. Through the efforts of the PV community working together, I look forward to continued leadership by the United States in this technology. James E. Rannels James E. Rannels, Director Office of Photovoltaic and Wind Technologies U.S. Department of Energy Washington, D.C. Cover Photos: From top left, clockwise: A sheet of thin-film silicon emerges from At the Salinas Missions National the growth chamber of AstroPower, Inc.'s, Monument, New Mexico, a 1.5-kW grid- A National Center for Photovoltaics engi- manufacturing plant. The SiliconFilmª tied PV system provides two-thirds of the neer at Sandia National Laboratories uses product was developed through the DOE power for the Visitor Center and comfort a hail tester to determine the ability of a PV Program's PV Manufacturing station. (National Park Service/PIX05664) PV module to withstand the impact of hail Technology (PVMaT) project. (Rusty stones. (Jim Yost Photography/PIX01820) Ristin, AstroPower/PIX05668) Background photo: This home built by FIRST (Fully Integrated Using a physical vapor deposition system, This house in coastal Maine generates its Residential Solar Technology) includes a an NCPV researcher at the National own electricity from a 4.25-kW PV system 1.8-kW PV array of amorphous silicon Renewable Energy Laboratory fabricates beautifully integrated into the rooftop. modules. The house, which is near high-efficiency PV devices of thin films of Surplus power is sent back into the utility Princeton, NJ, is not connected to the utili- copper indium diselenide. (Jim Yost grid. (Solar Design Associates/PIX04470) ty grid. (Lyle Rawlings, FIRST/PIX04474) Photography/PIX03524) PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY PROGRAM OVERVIEW FY1997 iii 1997 PV Program Highlights Systems Engineering and Applications . page 2 ■ The Department of Defense ■ To support safe installation of PV ■ The PV Program designed and selected the 450-kW PV array at the systems, the PV Program facilitated built a flexible test bed at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Grounds industry proposals of more than Outdoor Test Facility for short-term as a Federal Energy Management 50 changes, which have been accept- system performance characterization. Program Showcase Facility. ed, to the 1999 National Electrical The Program also sponsored the 1997 Code. The Program also facilitated a PV Systems and Performance ■ The National Park Foundation proposed standard for utility inter- Workshop, providing the primary awarded Sandia the 1997 National connection of PV systems. forum for communication on system Park Partnership Leadership Award issues between industry suppliers for promoting and expanding the ■ The PV Program facilitated the and users of the technology. use of renewable energy, reflecting development of criteria for laborato- the impact of the 1.5 MW of federal ry accreditation and module certifi- ■ The PV Program established base- agency PV projects facilitated by the cation. These criteria were applied line operation and maintenance costs National Center for Photovoltaics. to Arizona State University PV Test for systems and identified the factors FacilityÑthe first U.S. laboratory contributing to reliability. ■ The PV Program helped to com- accredited by PowerMark Corpo- plete 300 solar PV home-lighting ration to certify PV modules. systems in eight villages of the Sundarbans region in India. ng to reliability. Technology Development . page 9 ■ The PV Program worked to extend turing lines for PV modules made of oped at NREL that has greater pho- the successes of the PV Manufactur- thin-film materials. tothermal stability than current ing Technology (PVMaT) project, commercial formulations. receiving 31 proposals for the new ■ PV Program researchers gained Phase 5A and supporting industrial new insights into failure mecha- ■ Cooperative R&D on balance of manufacturing improvements that nisms affecting the service lifetime systems for PV produced a new, resulted in capacity growth. of modules. 97%-efficient, grid-tied inverter from Utility Power Group. Specifications ■ United Solar Systems Corporation ■ A patent application has been were also developed for a new and Solarex opened large manufac- filed for a new encapsulant devel- 30-kilowatt (kW) hybrid inverter. Research and Development . page 17 ■ United Solar made amorphous al had an efficiency of 14%, and a ■ The PV Program received 63 pro- silicon triple-junction cells with a sta- patent application has been filed. posals for participation in the next ble, total-area conversion efficiency round of Thin Film PV Partnerships. of 12.1%, measured after 1000 hours ■ Siemens Solar Industries tested a of light-soaking. 1-kW copper indium diselenide ■ The Georgia Institute of array having 9.2% efficiency. Technology produced high-efficien- ■ The first PV Program Fulbright cy crystalline silicon cells (19.1% on scholar proposed a theory to explain ■ AstroPower produced a 9.2%, float-zone material and 18.4% on the Staebler-Wronski effect. 321-cm2 monolithically interconnect- Czochralski material) with rapid ed Silicon-Filmª minimodule. thermal processing. ■ DOE's cadmium telluride team developed a new, high-performance ■ NREL received an R&D 100 transparent conducting oxide. The Award for its new software tool, PV first cells produced with this materi- Optics, for cell and module design. iv PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY PROGRAM OVERVIEW FY1997 Introduction he U.S. Department of tions working in the field has A strategic review held by the Energy (DOE) Photovoltaic grown tremendously. Recognizing NCPV in July 1997 engaged the PV T Energy Program fosters the the benefits of improved communi- community in formulating plans widespread acceptance of photo- cation among these many people, for future activities. This success voltaic (PV) technology and accel- DOE formed the National Center is highlighted in a letter from a erates commercial use of U.S.