![]() ![]() This would replace the output of 75 new coal-fired power stations and prevent the emission of 664 million tons of CO2 annually. ![]() The study assumed that the PV market would grow at a compound annual growth rate of 30 per cent until 2020, well below the 45-per cent growth that the industry averaged from 2002 to 2007. In a 2004 report entitled Solar Generation, Greenpeace and the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) estimated that, by 2020, PV could provide 276 TWh of energy - equivalent to 1 per cent of the global demand projected by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The PV industry is striving to reduce system costs by 50 per cent by 2015, at which point PV will be cost-competitive with retail electricity costs in most of the United States and other developed countries.Īs PV technology becomes increasingly affordable and available, its potential as a major source of low-carbon energy grows. Solar energy is the cheapest option for providing power to locations more than half a mile from existing electricity and is generally competitive without subsidies in regions with high energy prices. Currently, solar modules are selling globally from $3 to $5 per watt, while installed systems are generally sold at between $6 and $10 per watt. Data fairly clearly demonstrate an 18 to 20 per cent "progress ratio" - for every doubling in the cumulative production of solar cells, prices come down about one fifth. The growth of PV has driven a very classic "experience curve" decline in manufacturing prices. ![]() Several leading countries - Germany, Japan and the United States, representing two thirds of the global market - have provided market support programmes to drive down costs. PV have become competitive in all market segments, particularly grid-connected applications, as more investment in the sector has produced major advances in automation, manufacturing efficiencies and throughput. The global photovoltaic sector has been growing at an average of over 40 per cent in the last eight years, manufacturing over 2,200 megawatts in 2006. As a result, this could decrease the life-cycle CO2 emissions to 15 g/kWh. For silicon technology, clear prospects for a reduction of energy input exist, and an energy payback of one year may be possible within a few years as silicon growth processes become more efficient. Nuclear power emits 25 g/kWh on average in the United States only wind power is better with a mere 11 g/kWh. In comparison, a combined cycle gas-fired power plant emits some 400 g/kWh, while a coal-fired power plant with carbon capture and storage, about 200 g/kWh. A September 2006 joint paper by scientists from Brookhaven National Laboratory, Utrecht University and the Energy Research Center of the Netherlands demonstrates that crystalline silicon PV systems have energy payback times of 1.5 to 2 years for South European locations and 2.7 to 3.5 years for middle-European, while thin film technologies have energy payback times in the range of 1 to 1.5 years in South Europe.Īccordingly, life-cycle carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for PV are now in the range of 25 to 32 g/kWh. PV energy systems have very good potential as a low-carbon energy supply technology. Groups of PV cells are configured into modules and arrays, which can be used to power any number of electrical loads. PV devices generate electricity directly from sunlight via an electric process that occurs naturally in certain types of material. Photovoltaics (PV) are perhaps the most well-known and fastest growing sector of solar technology. With clear market signals from Governments, these low-carbon technologies could provide more than 30 per cent of the world's energy supply in aggregate by 2040. Yet solar technologies, including photovoltaics, concentrating solar power and solar thermal constitute the fastest growing energy source in the world. Of the more than 10,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity generation produced by the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), solar currently accounts for just 8 TWh. Solar power produces no emissions during generation itself, and life-cycle assessments clearly demonstrate that it has a smaller carbon footprint from "cradle-to-grave" than fossil fuels. In an increasingly carbon-constrained world, solar energy technologies represent one of the least carbon-intensive means of electricity generation. ![]()
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