Title
Terawatt-scale photovoltaics: Transform global energy. Improving costs and scale reflect looming opportunities
Author
Haegel, N.M.
Atwater, H.
Barnes, T.
Breyer, C.
Burrell, A.
Chiang, J.M.
de Wolf, S.
Dimmler, B.
Feldman, D.
Glunz, S.
Goldschmidt, J.C.
Hochschild, D.
Inzunza, R.
Kaizuka, I.
Kroposki, B.
Kurtz, S.
Leu, S.
Margolis, R.
Matsubara, K.
Metz, A.
Metzger, W.K.
Morjaria, M.
Niki, S.
Nowak, S.
Peters, I.M.
Philipps, S.
Reindl, T.
Richter, A.
Rose, D.
Sakurai, K.
Schlatmann, R.
Shikano, M.
Sinke, W.C.
Sinton, R.
Stanbery, B.J.
Topic, M.
Tumas, W.
Ueda, Y.
van de Lagemaat, J.
Verlinden, P.
Vetter, M.
Warren, E.
Werner, M.
Yamaguchi, M.
Bett, A.W.
Publication year
2019
Abstract
Solar energy has the potential to play a central role in the future global energy system because of the scale of the solar resource, its predictability, and its ubiquitous nature. Global installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity exceeded 500 GW at the end of 2018, and an estimated additional 500 GW of PV capacity is projected to be installed by 2022–2023, bringing us into the era of TW-scale PV. Given the speed of change in the PV industry, both in terms of continued dramatic cost decreases and manufacturing-scale increases, the growth toward TWscale PV has caught many observers, including many of us, by surprise. Two years ago, we focused on the challenges of achieving 3 to 10 TW of PV by 2030. Here, we envision a future with ~10 TW of PV by 2030 and 30 to 70 TW by 2050, providing a majority of global energy. PV would be not just a key contributor to electricity generation but also a central contributor to all segments of the global energy system. We discuss ramifications and challenges for complementary technologies (e.g., energy storage, power to gas/liquid fuels/chemicals, grid integration, and multiple sector electrification) and summarize what is needed in research in PV performance, reliability, manufacturing, and recycling.
Subject
Sustainable Energy
Energy
Photovoltaics
Solar energy
Global energy
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:76f74558-f00b-406a-808b-c92fbcc2f539
TNO identifier
867406
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science AAAS, Washington, D.C.
ISSN
0036-8075
Source
Science, 364 (6443), 836-838
Document type
article