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Briefing
Solar
Appears in:
Advanced Economies, Asia/Pacific, Emerging Markets, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Africa, North America, Geostrategy, Markets, Climate Change and Clean Energy, Climate Change and Natural Resources, Commodities, Energy, Energy Security and Policy, Oil and Energy
Critical Issues
Background:
The sun provides enough energy in one minute to supply the world's energy needs for one year. Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy uses semiconducting materials (solar cells) to convert sunlight directly into electricity. Solar thermal harnesses the sun's energy to produce heat. Concentrating solar power (CSP) generates electricity by focusing sunlight on giant mirrors on desert land.
There are three generations of PV solar cells. First generation solar cells are the larger, silicon-based, photovoltaic cells that dominate the solar panel market (93% share) due to their high efficiency rate of about 15%. Second generation cells, also called thin-film solar cells, are significantly cheaper to produce than first generation cells but have lower efficiencies of about 6%. It has been predicted that second generation cells will dominate the residential solar market as new, higher-efficiency cells are researched and produced. Still in the research phase, third generation cells have moved beyond silicon-based cells, containing a wide range of potential solar innovations including polymer solar cells, nanocrystalline cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells.
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