Next-Generation Photovoltaic Technologies in the United States

Download or read book Next-Generation Photovoltaic Technologies in the United States written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper describes highlights of exploratory research into next-generation photovoltaic (PV) technologies funded by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) through its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for the purpose of finding disruptive or ''leap frog'' technologies that may leap ahead of conventional PV in energy markets. The most recent set of 14 next-generation PV projects, termed Beyond the Horizon PV, will complete their third year of research this year. The projects tend to take two notably different approaches: high-efficiency solar cells that are presently too expensive, or organic solar cells having potential for low cost although efficiencies are currently too low. We will describe accomplishments for several of these projects. As prime examples of what these last projects have accomplished, researchers at Princeton University recently reported an organic solar cell with 5% efficiency (not yet NREL-verified). And Ohio State University scientists recently demonstrated an 18% (NREL-verified) single-junction GaAs solar cell grown on a low-cost silicon substrate. We also completed an evaluation of proposals for the newest set of exploratory research projects, but we are unable to describe them in detail until funding becomes available to complete the award process.