Polycrystalline Thin Film Photovoltaics: From the Laboratory to Solar Fields (Presentation)

The conclusions of this report are that: (1) many issues how thin-film solar cells work remain unresolved, requiring further fundamental R and D effort; (2) commercial thin-film PV module production reached 29% in 2005 in the US, indicating much more rapid growth than crystalline Si PV; (3) commercial module performance is increasing based on current knowledge, more R and D will lead to further improvement; and (4) stability of thin-film modules is acceptable ({le} 1% per year power loss) if the right manufacturing processes are used for manufacturing.