Photovoltaics (or PV) is the field of technology and research related to the application of solar cells for energy by converting solar energy directly into electricity.[1] Due to the growing demand for renewable energy sources, the manufacture of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays has advanced dramatically in recent years.[2][3][4]
Photovoltaic production has been doubling every 2 years, increasing by an average of 48 percent each year since 2002, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy technology, and then increased by 110% in 2008.[5] At the end of 2008, the cumulative global PV installations reached 15,200 megawatts.[6][7] Roughly 90% of this generating capacity consists of grid-tied electrical systems. Such installations may be ground-mounted (and sometimes integrated with farming and grazing) [8] or built into the roof or walls of a building, known as Building Integrated Photovoltaics or BIPV for short.[9]
reference: wikipedia
There are many ways that photovoltaics are utilized, and furthermore, the capabilities of each type of installation usually is efficient in its own sort. One very interesting development is one which has progressed rapidly in the last year. Recently, scientists at MIT improved the field of photovoltaics by integrating nanotechnology to invent a ink which can be applied to the out rim of flat glass panels. The radiant energy is reflected toward the edges of the glazing using a transparent silicon film on the glass. This silicon is similar to the same structural component in OLED screens.
PHOTOVOLTAIC INKS APPLIED TO GLASS IMAGE COURTESY OF COVALENT SOLAR
The cost of photovoltaic power can be reduced with organic solar concentrators. These are planar waveguides with a thin-film organic coating on the face and inorganic solar cells attached to the edges. Light is absorbed by the coating and reemitted into waveguide modes for collection by the solar cells. We report single- and tandem-waveguide organic solar concentrators with quantum efficiencies exceeding 50% and projected power conversion efficiencies as high as 6.8%. The exploitation of near-field energy transfer, solid-state solvation, and phosphorescence enables 10-fold increases in the power obtained from photovoltaic cells, without the need for solar tracking.
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.