The Evolution Of Photovoltaic Technologies For Energy Production: State–Of–The–Art Context And Recent Developments

International Journal of

Energy & Technology
www.journal-enertech.eu
ISSN 2035-911X

International Journal of Energy & Technology 4 (6) (2012) 1–11

THE EVOLUTION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGIES FOR ENERGY
PRODUCTION: STATE–OF–THE–ART CONTEXT AND RECENT
DEVELOPMENTS
Maria Vittoria Biagini *, Giulio Lorenzini *, Onorio Saro °
* University of Parma, Department of Industrial Engineering,Parco Area delle Scienze 181/A, 43124 Parma, Italy, giulio.lorenz ini@unipr.it
° University of Udine, Department of Electrical Management and Mechanical Engineering, via delle Scienze 208, 33100 Udine, Ital y

ABSTRACT
A very serious and enormous problem that humanity is forced to deal with and that risks putting an end to its survival is
environmental contamination and deterioration which hasbecome a characteristic aspect of our civilisation. The considerable
changes in the climate at local and planetary level could lead to sudden or irreversible impacts.
The greatest challenge and opportunity we have is to invest in developing and innovating sustainable energy technologies,
one being the photovoltaic system which is undoubtedly one of the most important.
The rapid and constantevolution of photovoltaic systems makes it necessary to take stock of the past and current
technological situations and of foreseeable developments for the near future.
Keywords: solar energy, photovoltaic technologies, first second and third generation

1. INTRODUCTION
Although to date there have been no significant changes
in global conduct, it is by now a commonly recognised fact
thatclimate changes, at a local level and worldwide,
represent one of the main challenges of humanity. High
energy consuming production processes, large emerging
economies such as India and China, which generate a
continuous increase in demand, the progressive reduction in
the availability of fossil fuels and the problems arising from
their use are clear evidence of the pressing need to rethinkglobal energy policies. The efforts aimed at avoiding
greenhouse gas emissions must be intensified and countries
must assume common, albeit differentiated, responsibilities,
according to their respective level of development. First and
foremost, moreover, there is a need to implement a change of
approach in order to develop an environmentally friendly
economy and society.
Fundamentalrequirements for achieving these objectives
indubitably include the adoption of alternative technologies
and social behaviours geared toward lower energy
consumption. Getting away from fossil fuels and building a
"low carbon" society is an attainable objective, but
necessarily entails large investments in the development and
improvement of clean, safe renewable forms of energy.
Photovoltaic energyis one of these.
The solar photovoltaic power currently installed at global
level was more than 36 GW at the end of 2010, could reach
about 180 GW by 2015 and up to 350 GW by 2020, which
implies a CO2 saving of about 1.4 billion tons a year [1].
Photovoltaic systems have grown since 2000 at an annual
rate of 40% and, according to estimations calculated in
“Solar Generation 6” report, solarphotovoltaic systems

could come to cover 9% of global demand by 2030 [1].
Associated with this expansion of the photovoltaic
“market” is the rapid technological growth of the systems
available: even if the photovoltaic cells used today are still
called first generation by traditional silicon-based
technology, researchers are quickly progressing towards a
second and third generation ofphotovoltaic systems: the
second generation concerns modules made with thin films of
microcrystalline semiconductor materials (already on the
market) while the third generation, still at the experimental
stage, comprises several technologies based on innovative
concepts, such as photovoltaic modules with semiconductors
made of organic, polymer and plastic nanomaterials,
multijunction modules...