Science and Technology Innovation Board Photovoltaic Power Generation

Can advancing photovoltaic technologies counteract global solar potential?

Communications Earth & Environment 5, Article number: 586 (2024) Cite this article Future changes in solar radiation and rising temperatures will likely reduce global solar photovoltaic potential, but advancing photovoltaic technologies could counteract these effects.

Is solar PV a strategic renewable technology?

This report clearly points out that solar PV is one of the strategic renewable technologies needed to realise the global energy transformation in line with the Paris climate goals. The technology is available now, could be deployed quickly at a large scale and is cost-competitive.

What are the latest developments in PV technology?

Recent technological progress and engineering applications of PV systems are given. Key energy, exergy, economic and environmental performance metrics are presented. Latest Investigations on sun-tracking, floating PV, bifacial PV are reported. Novel combined improvement techniques of PV techniques at research scale are discussed.

How has the solar PV industry evolved in recent years?

The evolution of the solar PV industry so far has been remarkable, with several milestones achieved in recent years in terms of installations (including off-grid), cost reductions and technological advancements, as well as establishment of key solar energy associations (Figure 5).

Is the future of solar PV employment bright?

Despite setbacks, there is reason to believe that the future of solar PV employment is nonetheless bright, given the urgency for more ambitious climate and energy transition policies, as well as the expectation that countries are learning important lessons on the design and coherence of policies.

Is solar PV a competitive source of new power generation capacity?

Solar PV is emerging as one of the most competitive sources of new power generation capacity after a decade of dramatic cost declines. A decline of 74% in total installed costs was observed between 2010 and 2018 (Figure 10).