A perovskite solar cell (Photo credit: Dennis Schroeder / National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
Contributed by By Scott Graybeal, Caelux
2023 has been a significant year for solar power.
While insights from the year have yet to be analyzed, early US data demonstrates strong residential solar demand. Q1 installations reached 1,641 MWdc, a 30 percent year-over-year increase and a first-quarter record. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reported that more new solar was installed in the United States in the first eight months of 2023 than any other energy source.
Utilities are also turning to solar technology to generate affordable, renewable energy. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, developers planned to install 29.1 GW of solar power in the United States in 2023, doubling the current record for installed utility-scale solar capacity in a single year.
With all this growth, it may be tempting for policymakers to assume that the market will evolve to usher in renewable energy solutions. The reality, however, is that governments will need to work closely with industry to ensure that the right technologies are deployed at scale and at the right time.
Accelerating our transition to clean energy grids necessitates thoughtful prioritization of solutions that can be easily manufactured domestically, coupled with longer-term technologies that require more research and development.
One such innovation lies within solar. Specifically, perovskites, a class of synthetic metal-halide nanomaterials, will significantly enhance solar energy capabilities in the coming years if the design and development challenges and hurdles and all renewable energy solutions that require cheap, green electrons can be navigated effectively.
Perovskites enhance existing solar solutions
The current solar market is shaped by silicon-based photovoltaic cells that have dominated the space since America invented the product in the 1950s and President Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the White House roof in 1979.
This decades-old breakthrough has enabled the broad proliferation of solar power solutions, especially as the technology becomes more affordable. Today, the average rooftop solar system costs $25,000, down from $50,000 a decade ago.
There are several reasons why perovskites provide outsized value to solar, including:
- Material costs are readily sourced. No expensive or rare materials are needed.
- The capital equipment expense is low, as is the energy consumption required in production.
- They point to a future of super low cost, ultra-high efficiency solar produced regionally, extending benefits beyond energy production and environmental considerations to job creation and economic growth.
The global solar industry is currently constrained by extended supply chains, with the bulk of polysilicon production centralized in Asia, particularly China, which inherently sets a floor on cost reduction possibilities. Extracting incremental enhancements in crystalline silicon is increasingly challenging and costly, with the capital equipment required for advanced heterojunction techniques costing three times more than what’s needed for a perovskite production line with equivalent capacity.
Moreover, polysilicon production demands high temperatures, reaching over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, significantly impacting the energy needed for large-scale manufacturing. This high thermal requirement explains why polysilicon plants are often located near large coal mines in China. In contrast, perovskites can be processed at temperatures below 150 degrees Fahrenheit, presenting a direct advantage in energy consumption for scaling production.
GO DEEPER: Check out the Factor This! manufacturing playlist, including episodes on the U.S. solar manufacturing boom, thin-film manufacturing, and more. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
This creates a market opportunity for innovation, and perovskites are the product that meets the moment, producing low-cost yet highly efficient solar devices that make traditional silicon mo
Read More
