1. SOLAR PHOTO-VOLTAIC ENERGY By Name. Course Instructo

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SOLAR PHOTO-VOLTAIC ENERGY
By Name
Course
Instructor
Institution
Location
Date

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SOLAR PHOTO-VOLTAIC ENERGY
Table of Contents
Executive summary......................................................................................................................2
Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
Research background...................................................................................................................3
Aims and objectives....................................................................................................................4
Significance of the research.........................................................................................................4
LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................................4
Methods for converting solar power into electricity....................................................................4
Solar photovoltaic technology.....................................................................................................5
Monocrystalline silicon PV panels..............................................................................................6
Polycrystalline silicon PV panels................................................................................................6
Thick-film silicon PV panels........................................................................................................6
Amorphous silicon PV panels......................................................................................................7
Application of solar PV technology.............................................................................................7
Research methodology.................................................................................................................7
Interviews.....................................................................................................................................8
Review of secondary sources.......................................................................................................9
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................9
References....................................................................................................................................9

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Executive summary
Population growth and industrial development have greatly led to increased global energy
demands. Moreover, Global environmental concerns which are coupled with the steady progress
in renewable energy technologies, are currently opening up new opportunities for the utilization
of renewable energy resources. In the current times, Solar energy is the Clean, most abundant
and inexhaustible source of renewable energy. Solar energy from the sun is considered as the
main source of all energies.
Electricity can be obtained from solar energy by the use of many methods, for instance, using
sunlight to directly b produce electricity or by making use of solar energy as thermal energy. The
technology of generating electricity from the sunlight is relatively exciting an new, this offers
new opportunities in generating ‘green electricity'. This technology is usually referred to as Solar
photovoltaic or simply PV, which is also referred to as solar electric. The solar photovoltaic
offers have the ability to produce electricity in a quiet, clean and renewable manner. This system
utilizes the abundant energy from the sun, to produce electricity with the production of harmful
greenhouse gases which affects the climate.
Introduction
In order to secure the future for future generations, it is very essential to reduce energy
consumption and cut greenhouse gases. World leaders from different parts of the globe have
resolved to tackle global warming by agreeing and signing to the Kyoto Protocol, which is an
international treaty committing signatory countries to reduce their emissions of greenhouse

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gases. Majority of the countries which are signatory members of the Kyoto Protocol are actively
involved in putting measures to meet the 12.5% cut of the greenhouse gas emissions (Reinders,
2015, p. 12). Nevertheless, there is no single solution for the signatory nations to reduce their
emissions. The International Energy Agency projected in 2014 that by 2050 under its high
renewable scenario, solar photovoltaic and the concentrated solar power would be likely to
contribute to approximately 11 to 16 % of the world electricity consumption and thus the
solar would be the largest source of electricity in the world (Fthenakis, 2013, p. 78).
Research background
The spectrum of the solar rays covers approximately 250nm to roughly 2500nm in wavelength,
as shown in the figure below.
Fig 1: Solar radiation spectrum By the way visible light of human beings covers from 400 to 700
nm, at which band the light is very dense, about 1.5 W/m2/nm at 400 nm, going up to about 1.75
W/m2/nm at about 550 nm and then comes back to 1.5 W/m2/nm at 700 nm as can be deduced
from the figure (Zaidi, 2018, p. 22).The solar heating is as a result of the entire solar spectrum,