Quick facts on Photovoltaic energy conversion
source:
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pv_quick_facts.html
- The most frequently seen application of PV is in consumer products, which use tiny amounts of direct current (dc) power, less than 1 watt (W). More than 1 billion hand-held calculators, several million watches, and a couple of million portable lights and battery chargers are all powered by PV cells.
- PV is rapidly becoming the power supply of choice for remote and small-power, dc applications of 100 W or less.
- PV module production has increased more than thirteen-fold since 1989. Worldwide PV module shipments in 2002 were 560 megawatts (MW). The United States shipped 120 MW.
- 2002 worldwide production of PV modules includes 33% single-crystal silicon, 55% polycrystalline silicon, and 5% amorphous silicon, mostly used in consumer products. Modules based on cadmium telluride now represent about �% of the market. The remainder (about 6%) represents a Japanese technology of amorphous silicon on a crystalline silicon slice.
- The cost of larger PV systems (greater than 1 kW) is measured in “levelized” costs per kWh—the costs are spread out over the system lifetime and divided by kWh output. The levelized cost is now around 30 cents/kWh.At this price, PV is cost effective for residential customers located farther than a quarter of a mile from the nearest utility line. Reliability and lifetime are steadily improving; PV manufacturers guarantee their products for up to 25 years.
- The worldwide PV industry has grown from sales of less than $2 million in 1975 to greater than about $2 billion in 2001.
- Around 70% of U.S. solar cell production is exported, mostly to developing countries where 2 billion people still live without electricity.
- Since the inception of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Photovoltaics R&D Program, thin films, one of our solar cell materials, have seen a steady rise in conversion efficiencies. Today’s conversion efficiencies, the amount of sunlight turned into electricity, have reached 18.8% for CIS cells, 15.8% for CdTe cells, and greater than 12% for a-Si cells.
- In 2001 PV module shipments jumped to almost 400 megawatts, which represents about a $2.5 to $3 billion dollar market.
- As of 1998, the PV industry creates about 3000 direct and indirect jobs for every $100 million of module sales.
- A residential energy system typically costs about $8-10 per Watt. Where government incentive programs exist, together with lower prices secured through volume purchases, installed costs as low as $3-4 watt—or some 10-12 cents per kilowatt-hour can be achieved.
- Currently, 48 states and a U.S. territory have some type of solar or renewable incentive—including investment credits, rebates, sales tax, or property tax waivers.13
- The largest commercial PV installation in the U.S. as of 2003 is 3.4 MW for Tucson Electric Power in Tucson, Arizona.