Kaye Antonette M.

Chua Paper on Advance Topics & Trends on Chemical Engineering

Joshua Emmanuel H. Pagulong ChE 190 – May 3, 2019

The Evolution of Solar Cells: Clear, Clean and Green

I. Introduction

There has been a rapid increase in energy consumption in the past several decades and it has
raised concerns from the community since it exhausts the globe’s petroleum reserves and other energy
resources. Aside from this, the energy demand that the technologies and industrialization has brought a
visible damage to the environment due to the use of fossil fuels and natural resources that are mostly
irreplaceable (Alrikabi, 2014). With this, there is a need for an alternative energy source that utilizes
renewable resources which would be beneficial and less damaging. Renewable energy uses energy
sources that are continually replenished by nature—the sun, the wind, water, the Earth’s heat, and
plants. Renewable energy technologies turn these fuels into usable forms of energy—most often
electricity, but also heat, chemicals, or mechanical power (Department of Energy USA, 2001).
Renewable energy are often referred as “clean” and “green” technologies due to their less production
of pollutants contrary to fossil fuels that sends greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, trapping the sun’s
heat leading to contribution to global warming (Department of Energy USA, 2001). Among the
renewable energy technologies such as hydroelectric energy, geothermal energy, biomass energy and
tidal energy, this paper will be focusing on the solar energy most especially on the advancement of its
technologies that could be the future in terms of design and practicality.

II. Solar Energy

Sun is a big gas ball made up mostly of hydrogen and helium gas which makes energy in its
inner core in a process called nuclear fusion. The sun radiates an enormous amount of heat every day
which is more than enough energy than the world uses in one year (The Need Project, 2018).
Throughout the history of solar energy, photovoltaic effect has been the most significant breakthrough
in which the photovoltaic cells which are often called solar cells can convert the sunlight directly into
electricity based on the operating principles relying on the photovoltaic effect. The “photovoltaic” term
comes from the Greek “phos” meaning light, and from “volt”, the unit of electromotive force (Szabo,
2017). Solar Energy has the greatest potential for providing clean, safe and reliable power. Solar cells
which are the major parts of the solar energy are composed of silicon which is the second most abundant
substance on Earth. As the radiant energy from the sun strikes the solar cell, electricity is produced due
to the movement of the electrons (The Need Project, 2018). The continuing research in solar energy has
caused it to become more available and affordable wherein the solar panel cost reduced to 50%
(Alrikabi, 2014).

III. Classification of Solar Energy

Solar Energy can be classified into two types: 1) Passive solar and 2) Active solar. Passive solar
energy is making direct and indirect use of thermal energies from the sun. Indirect use of Energy is
possible only in building or structures. It is true that the passive solar ensures maximum exposure to the
sun’s rays however other structures and leaf covering over the windows and roofs can block out the sun
during the summer months. Active Solar Energy on the other hand utilizes the sun’s electromagnetic
radiation to generate electrical energy. In this case, the semi-conductor silicon Boron solar chips are
generally used however they have low efficiency ratio and can only supply the energy needs of small
devices such as calculators, clock, radio, etc. (Alrikabi, 2014).

Figure 1. Indirect solar energy mechanism

IV. Solar Energy in the Philippine Context

The location of the Philippines is very ideal for solar energy since it is one of the sunniest
countries on earth near the equator with a long and hot summer season with average solar radiation
ranging from 128 to 203 watts per sq. m. or an average of 161.7 watts per sq. m. potentially generating
4.5 to 5.5 kWh/m2/day (Greenpeace, 2000). Aside from this, it is a given fact that a large part of the
Philippine community most especially in the suburban and rural areas does not appreciate the basic
social services experienced in the cities such as electricity, health care and water. With this, solar energy
is a great help to those remote places given that it does not occupy a large area that might compromise
their way of life such as farming. Solar products for the poor hold great promise in the fight against
energy inaccessibility for rural areas – a major poverty inducing factor. Small scale solar can help create
pathways out of poverty. It should not be conceived of or planned merely as a one-off product-based
deployment, but rather as a long term commitment to deploy, maintain, and expand products in an
integrated and sustainable fashion. Due to the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, Philippines has been
doing continuous effort into investing renewable sources which boosted large scale solar production
(Greenpeace, 2000).

V. Transparent Solar Cells

The increasing population in the Earth also deals with the preservation or full utilization of
resources around us without having to waste anything. The main problem of solar cells attributed to
taking up large amount of lands might be on the brink of a solution. Imagine the bliss looking at a
window overlooking the depths of the oceans and the joy that the animals have as they swing across the
trees, but what is more interesting now is that window can produce electricity by harnessing solar energy
(Physics Org, 2009). Several researchers coming from different institutions such as Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) and Michigan State University (MSU) managed to develop transparent
solar cells that could turn everyday devices into power generators without altering their look and
function. In theory, translating the vision of see-through solar cells and transparent electronics into
reality involves two different transparent coatings, one that would conduct electricity via electrons, the
n-conductors, and one in which electron holes enable the electricity to flow, the p-conductors.
Producing these coatings requires to dope the base material with other atoms. N-conducting transparent
materials are state of the art, but the p-conductors are problematic since their conductivity is too low
and often their transparency is poor. Manufacturers need a transparent base material which is amenable
to both n- and p-doping (Physics Org, 2009; .Arch2o, 2019; Stauffer, 2013). The development of
transparent solar cells is a breakthrough that could lead to countless applications in architecture, mobile
electronics and automotive industry. The main study that led to the development of transparent solar
cells are the luminescent solar concentrators which have been the subject of intense research during the
last three decades. These offer a potential towards see-through solar modules of potential use as
photovoltaic windows. In its most typical realization, solar light impinges on a flat semi-transparent
layer doped with a dye capable of absorbing part of the incoming solar frequencies. By a process of
luminescence, the absorbed energy is converted into lower frequencies photons that are emitted and
guided by total internal reflection towards a set of thin-film solar cells that are placed perpendicular to
the surface of the film. The performance of the solar concentrator is also enhanced by coupling the
luminescent film to nanostructured photonic crystals that simultaneously enhance light absorption at
shorter wavelengths and light guiding at longer ones (Jimenez-Solano et al., 2015). Research teams
from MSU and MIT developed the same mechanism in the transparent photovoltaic cells which used
transparent luminescent solar concentrator (TLSC). This technology can absorb wavelengths of light
that are invisible to the human eye such as infrared and ultraviolet light (Arch2o, 2019).

Figure 2. Sample transparent photovoltaic device

Figure 2 shows the key components in the novel transparent photovoltaic (PV) device, which
transmits visible light while capturing ultraviolet (UV) and near-infrared (NIR) light. The PV coating—the
series of thin layers at the right—is deposited on the piece of glass, plastic, or other transparent substrate. At
the core of the coating are the active layers, which absorb the UV and NIR light and cause current to flow
via the two transparent electrodes through an external circuit. The reflector sends UV and NIR light back
into the active layers, while the anti-reflective (AR) coatings on the outside surfaces maximize incoming
light by reducing reflections (Stauffer, 2013).

VI. Conclusion

It can be concluded that the transparent solar cells are not yet that efficient as compared to the
conventional solar energy since its power-conversion efficiency is low and only entails to about 1-2%
however it can already transmit more than 70% of the visible light. Ideally, the current design could
already reach 12% efficiency, a rating comparable to that of existing commercial solar panels. Stacking
the transparent cells as of the moment could reach an efficiency of 10% while still maintaining the
ability to transmit light however another challenge to this is the longevity that it could stand most
especially that it will be used in commercial applications such as window coating that are needed to
perform well over several decades. This research has still a long way to go and continuous investigation
and experimentation would eventually lead us to the future.

REFERENCES

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http://www.jocet.org/papers/092-J30008.pdf

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