Technologies

Selection of Technology

The key components of a photovoltaic power system are the photovoltaic cells (sometimes also called solar cells) interconnected and encapsulated to form a photovoltaic module (the commercial product), the mounting structure for the module or array, the inverter(essential for grid-connected systems and) and charge controller (for off-grid systems only). {Source: First green consulting}

Existing Solar Photovoltaic Technologies

Crystalline silicon technologies currently account for most of the overall cell production in the IEA PVPS countries. Single crystal PV cells are manufactured using a single-crystal growth method and have commercial efficiencies between 15 % and 18 %. Multi-crystalline cells, usually manufactured from a melting and solidification process, are less expensive to produce but are marginally less efficient, with conversion efficiencies around 14 %. PV cells made from ribbons demonstrate an average efficiency around 14 %. Thin film cells, constructed by depositing extremely thin layers of photovoltaic semi-conductor materials onto a backing material such as glass, stainless steel or plastic, show stable efficiencies in the range of 7 % to 13 %. Thin film materials commercially used are amorphous silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), and copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS).{Source: First green consulting}

Thin Film Modules

Thin film modules are potentially cheaper to manufacture than crystalline cells have a wider customer appeal as design elements due to their homogeneous appearance present. Disadvantages include low-conversion efficiencies and requiring larger areas of PV arrays and more material (cables, support structures) to produce the same amount of electricity.{Source: First green consulting}

Conclusion on Selection of Technology

Each of the above technologies has their own particular strengths and weaknesses which have played a role in our decision making. We have decided to use multi crystalline silicon photovoltaic technology as our preferred technology. We have identified various vendors across the industry, and the decision on the particular vendor will be taken during the detailed project preparation stage.{Source: First green consulting}