Although
thin-film solar conversion efficiency is lower than silicon-based solar, it is
more cost-effective to manufacture and deploy and can be applied over a wider
range of surfaces. Thin-film solar has been added to observation buildings in
Antarctica to supplement diesel power. Thin-film solar there is used mainly to
power portable equipment and lighting but is expected to be added to displace
more diesel in the future which is expensive to acquire and haul in.
Thin-Film Solar Technology
In 2018, the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) identified some promising new applications
for thin-film solar tech including unmanned drones, portable chargers, and
building facades. The thin films used are made of cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper
indium gallium selenide (CIGS), perovskites, and other new technologies. NREL
identified three applications for thin-film solar where each can generate a GW
of electricity at a price over $1 per watt over the next 10 years (to 2028):
·
Aerospace and unmanned aerial vehicles –
Powering satellites is driven by extremely high launch costs; whereas, there is
an increasing desire to keep drones aloft for very long periods. For both of
these applications, limited space makes efficiency and weight critical and cost
secondary. A key player in this market is III-V PV, but while highly efficient
it’s also too expensive for many applications.
·
Portable charging – Making it easy for one
person to install or move a portable charger is driving the need for PV
technology that’s efficient and flexible. Finding the correct balance between
those requirements and cost could put millions of units into service by the
military, disaster relief workers, and recreational users.
·
Ground transportation – The integration of PV
in electric vehicles will compete with electricity coming from the grid, but
the addition could extend the driving range. The PV would have to use smaller
panels and be flexible enough to conform the contours of the roof.
NREL concluded
that the lower limit for a lightweight PV device is between 300 and 500 grams
per square meter. Below that would reduce reliability, durability, and safety.
In a November 2018 paper in Nature Energy, it was noted that:
“Thin-film and emerging technologies in photovoltaics
(PV) offer advantages for lightweight, flexible power over the rigid silicon
panels that dominate the present market. One important advantage is high
specific power (the power-to-weight ratio).”
As the following
chart shows there are about four competing types of thin film solar technology.
These are Cadmium telluride, Amorphous silicon, Copper indium gallium selenide,
and Gallium arsenide. Cadmium telluride has 50% of the current market share and
is the type that will be used in the projects delineated below. Amorphous
silicon is tailored for use on RVs and other portable applications. Copper
indium gallium selenide offers very good efficiency for thin film solar, but research
is ongoing. Gallium arsenide has the highest efficiency of thin film solar but
also is the most expensive to produce. Perovskite is an emerging thin-film
solar type that has great efficiency but higher costs. Other newer so-called third-generation thin-film technologies include perovskite, copper zinc tin sulfide, dye-sensitized PV, organic PV, and quantum dot PV. These will continue to
improve and perovskite-based solar deployments in particular are expected to grow.
The tables
below compare thin-film to silicon-based solar panels and show the pros and cons of thin-film technology. Thin-film technology has great advantages for portable applications such as RVs in that it can be spread out when needed and folded up for storage when not in use. However, for utility-scale projects, thin-film solar requires more space and land to produce the same amount of power as
silicon-based solar.
According to
Wikipedia, thin film solar was once more competitive with silicon-based solar
but dropped back as silicon efficiency improved.
“Thin-film solar technology captured a peak global
market share of 32% of the new photovoltaic deployment in 1988 before declining
for several decades and reaching another, smaller peak of 17% again in 2009.Market
share then steadily declined to 5% in 2021 globally, however thin-film
technology captured approximately 19% of the total U.S. market share in the
same year, including 30% of utility-scale production.”
New Thin-Film Solar Projects
In August 2024
GM announced that it has entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for
electricity from the largest ever solar energy project in Arkansas thus far,
the Newport Solar project, a 180-megawatt project by NorthStar Clean Energy, a
branch of CMS Energy. It is GM’s biggest solar PPA thus far. This project keeps
GM as the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the U.S.
The project will use thin film solar technology on 500,000 panels. The project
will utilize First Solar’ thin film tech with a cadmium telluride (CadTel)
semiconductor, deploying byproduct materials from copper and zinc mining
operations. The company noted:
“First Solar’s thin film PV technology produces
energy-efficient modules with a superior degradation rate, temperature
coefficient, spectral and shading response, and the smallest environmental
footprint in the industry.”
Thin film also
has a lower environmental footprint than silicon-based solar, using less
energy, less water, and fewer semiconductor materials. The result is a carbon
footprint 2.5 times less than silicon and a water footprint 3 times less than
silicon, according to First Solar. Thin film tech also boasts less process
steps and faster production times. First Solar also claims a 90% recovery rate
for glass in their modules which means post-consumer disposal won’t be an
issue.
First Solar thin
film tech will also be used in the very large 800-megawatt Double Black Diamond
solar farm in Illinois with assistance from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. This
project is being developed by Swift Current Energy and is expected to be the
largest solar farm east of the Mississippi River at 800 MWdc/593 MWac. Google
is providing tax equity financing and Mitsubishi, and others are providing construction
financing for the project. According to Swift Current Energy:
“Constellation NewEnergy, Inc. will purchase a portion
of the energy and RECs generated by Double Black Diamond Solar to serve the
seven customers that have been announced. The City of Chicago will source
renewable energy produced by the Project to power several energy-intensive
facilities, including Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Midway
International Airport. Additionally, Cook County Illinois, CVS Health, Loyola
University of Chicago, PPG, State Farm, and TransUnion have agreements to
purchase power from the Project via Constellation.”
References:
New solar
project expected to be one of the largest in the nation: 'Can help unlock new
clean energy at a rate that matches the pace and scale of demand growth'. Leslie
Sattler. The Cool Down. September 17, 2024. New
solar project expected to be one of the largest in the nation: 'Can help unlock
new clean energy at a rate that matches the pace and scale of demand growth'
(msn.com)
Swift
Current Energy Secures Investment from Google for 800 MW Solar Project. Swift
Current Energy. August 20, 2024. Swift
Current Energy Secures Investment from Google for 800 MW Solar Project - Swift
Current Energy
Thin
Film Solar Deployed In Biggest-Ever Solar Farm In The US East. Tina Casey.
Clean Technica. August 20, 2024. Thin
Film Solar Deployed In 800-Megawatt US Solar Farm (cleantechnica.com)
Solar
Energy Revolution Brewing In Arkansas, With An Assist From GM. Tina Casey.
Clean Technica. August 18, 2024. Solar
Energy Revolution Brewing In Arkansas With Assist From GM (cleantechnica.com)
Just
Ask Antarctica: Yes, Thin Film Solar Cells Work In Freezing Cold Temps
(#CleanTechnica Interview). Tina Casey> Clean Technica. March 14, 2019. Just
Ask Antarctica: Yes, Thin Film Solar Cells Work In Freezing Cold Temps
(#CleanTechnica Interview) - CleanTechnica
News
Release: NREL Identifies Where New Solar Technologies Can Be Flexible. National
Renewable Energy laboratory. November 14, 2018. News
Release: NREL Identifies Where New Solar Technologies Can Be Flexible | News |
NREL
Increasing
markets and decreasing package weight for high-specific-power photovoltaics. Matthew
O. Reese, Stephen Glynn, Michael D. Kempe, Deborah L. McGott, Matthew S.
Dabney, Teresa M. Barnes, Samuel Booth, David Feldman & Nancy M. Haegel. Nature
Energy. 3, pages1002–1012 (2018). November 2018. Increasing markets and
decreasing package weight for high-specific-power photovoltaics | Nature Energy
Overview.
First Solar. Overview |
First Solar
Everything
you need to know about thin-film solar panels. Jamie Smith, Edited by Catherine
Lane. Solar Reviews. Everything You
Need To Know About Thin-Film Solar Panels (solarreviews.com)
Thin-film
solar cell. Wikipedia. Thin-film solar cell
- Wikipedia
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