Proceedings of the Fall 2018 ELEC 7830/36 Photovoltaics Class Presentations
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Proceedings of the Fall 2018 ELEC 7830/36 Photovoltaics Class Presentations 1) Zabihollah Ahmadi 2) Arthur Bond 3) Carl Bugg 4) Prattay Chowdhury 5) Jeff Craven 6) Kyle Daniels 7) Tanner Grider 8) Donald Hughes 9) Grant Kirby 10) Markus Kreitzer 11) Sanfwon Seo 12) Minseok Song 13) Wendong Wang 14) Shane Williams 15) Yuqiao Zhang 1 Fabrication Methods of Photovoltaic Devices Zabihollah Ahmadi A simple configuration of Solar Cells is a P-N junction, but even for fabrication of this simple configuration there are several experiments that should be done. In other words, fabrication processes involve the steps such as oxidation growth, etching oxides, photolithograph, and metal deposition. As an example, ion implantation is used for making n+ or p+ doping in Si wafer. In general, there are different kind of materials that are used for fabrication of Solar Cells. The most popular materials are Multijunction Cells ( lattice matched, metamorphic, inverted metamorphic, …), Single-Junction GaAs (Single crystal, Concentrator, thin-film crystal), Crystalline Si Cells, Thin films like CIGS and CdTe and Emerging PV (Dye-sensitized cells, Perovskite cells, Organic tandem cells, Inorganic cells, Quantum dot cells.) Recently, some groups used 2D mateirals like Graphene and Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (MoS2) in fabrication of Photovoltaics devices. So, these materials need to be synthesized on substrate using different methods. For example Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition is the best method for deposition of GaAs. This presentation will talk about how these methods work in fabrication of PV. 2 Photovoltaic Sensors Arthur Bond Photovoltaics or PV is the process of converting solar energy into a DC electrical current through the use of semi conductive materials. This technology has had a significant impact in the fields of energy and environmental protection, but one lesser known area that photovoltaics is found is in electronic sensors. This presentation will discuss the use of photovoltaic technology in sensor applications. The presentation will begin with an introduction to photovoltaics. This section will provide a brief description of the design and function of common photovoltaics cells types. After the introduction, additional material will be built on to the base design of the photovoltaic cells to derive the working principle of photovoltaic sensors. There are different iterations of this technology so a few common sensors designs will be presented. To see the use of this technology, real world examples will be introduced. How and why these sensors are used will discussed as well as the limitation that they have in their roles. The next section of the presentation will focus on how photovoltaic sensors compare to other types of sensors. These other types of sensor are devices that are used in the same role, but operate on a different design principle. The comparison will be based on the strengths and weaknesses of each sensor and their performances in various circumstances. The final section will discuss the opportunity that photovoltaic sensors have in future applications. This section will also present potential advancements that may improve the existing technology. Most of this section will be a speculation and may not go into substantial detail. Concluding the presentation will be brief recap of key points of photovoltaic sensors and references to outside material resources. 3 A SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE IN THE U.S. with GRID TIED ROOF-TOP SOLAR PANELS Carl R. Bugg This project is a description of a single family house in the United States, with roof-top solar panels connected to the grid. I will provide a detailed explanation of all the components involved, starting with the selection of the solar panels, all the electronics, breakers, etc. A grid-tied solar system generates energy from the sun and stores it in the utility grid, so you can use it anytime you need it. With access to the utility grid, your main concern is getting the most value from your investment; grid-tied solar is the way to go. It has the lowest upfront cost because you don’t have to buy batteries to store the power you generate. The grid takes care of storage for you. During peak hours, you may generate more electricity than you need to power your home. In most states, you can sell this excess power to the utility company, which stretches the value of your investment even further. This project defines the home size and location, the PV Panels selected, the mounting system, the wiring from the PV Panels, arrangement of strings, DC anti-surge devices, PV combiner units, DC disconnect switches, Grid tie inverters with MPPTs, Islanding prevention system, AC breakers, AC anti-surge device and the power utility’s net metering system. The project summary includes the PV system performance, net income and return on investment. 4 The Growth of Photovoltaics in Europe and its Current Status Prattay Chowdhury Major power sources like coal, oil, natural gas and other petroleum are being used extensively by the human. It will lead to the shortage of petroleum, and so renewable energy sources for power generation is becoming popular day by day. Of all the renewable energy sources solar energy is the most popular as its readily available. Extensive research is going on photovoltaics throughout the world to exploit solar power, and it has started contributing to the total world power generation. But no other region in the world is more successful in photovoltaics than Europe. In the last two decades, Europe has been a prominent example of solar power generation using photovoltaics. Germany, a leader in the photovoltaics power revolution, shares a significant contribution (about 42% of total EU solar power) to it. Approximately 1.5 million photovoltaic system is installed in this country. European Union countries produce the highest amount of photovoltaics power in combined in the world. Major projects are being installed to increase the amount, and per capita consumption in the European area is also higher than the rest of the world. Two countries: Germany and Italy are the dominant player in photovoltaic power generation. Even smaller European countries are developing photovoltaics very fast. Denmark has already reached its goal of generating 200MW power from photovoltaics by 2020 in 2012. It is forecasted to reach 1000MW by 2020 in Denmark. Croatia which lags behind the other European countries in photovoltaic has targeted to generate at least 500MW by 2020. Some other motivating factors are helping to boom photovoltaic in Europe. For example, the French government is planning to reduce nuclear power reduction from 75% to 50% by 2025 and photovoltaic is expected to replace it. European companies are performing research to manufacture cheaper PV cell to meet the growing demand. Recently EU has lifted the five-year-old restrictions on Chinese solar panel import to meet up the demand of photovoltaics in the region. The presentation includes Europe’s photovoltaics history and the major projects and plans that made Europe a leader in PV power. It contains the current scenario of PV power generation and usage. It also shows the future of PV in Europe from generation and demand forecast. 5 Solar Power: A Solution to the Fossil Fuel Problem, But Not the Only or Best Solution Jeff Craven II Photovoltaic devices offer much promise and hope to the fossil fuel problem. The devices are becoming more readily available, efficient, and cheaper every day. They also are a great alternative to fossil fuels in that the sun is always shining and is, for all intents and purposes, a limitless source of clean energy. However, the positives of photovoltaic devices do not come without their drawbacks, as is the same for most promising technologies. For the most part, the drawbacks of solar cells are only problematic at large scales. Unfortunately, in order to solve the fossil fuel dependence of not only the United States but also other countries, a large-scale solution is the only solution. Because of this a large drawback of solar cells is simply unavoidable: practicality. On smaller scales solar cells offer much cheaper energy and can even allow for residents to make enough electricity that they can, in fact, sell the energy back to the power companies in some instances. But on larger scales, solar cells become problematic in that they require larger and larger areas for solar coverage. Not only this, but the solar energy available at different latitudes can also very significantly, particularly at higher latitudes in which the sun shines less intensely and for shorter amounts of time during the day. One solution to this is to simply place the cells in a sunnier location and send the power to the other parts of the country. Unfortunately, this is not only not practical, but it is also extremely inefficient. The reason for this is line loss from the transmission lines- as transmission lines get longer, they lose more and more of their energy and it is dissipated as heat, which is precisely what clean energy is supposed to prevent in the first place. Thus, due to losses more energy will be required which leads to a larger area required. In the presentation I will cover the basic mathematics behind solar cells, their average energy absorbed by the sun, and what energy requirements are required to power the United States alone for a year. I will also discuss the problem of scale with the solar panels, primarily by showing varying images of the sizes of the necessary solar array sizes in comparison to maps of the United States and Alabama. In the presentation it will become readily apparent that solar energy as the only alternative is simply not the solution to the fossil fuel problem based on the scale of the arrays, but it is very much one of the solutions to the problem.