Photovoltaics: A leadership to regain

by Ezio Terzini, Paola delli Veneri, Mario Tucci, Giorgio Graditi, ENEA

DOI 10.12910/EAI2017-028

A great effort from Europe is needed in order to regain market share and rebuild the credit of its companies. Italy and, in particular, ENEA is ready for this challenge pointing to the evolution of c-Si solar cell, new thin film absorber and new PV components

Photovoltaics (PV) is the most popular source of renewable energy today. It offers an important option to address the environmental issue of reducing CO₂ emissions, but it is still heavily demonized because of the high cost and the need for incentives for its full market penetration. However the relative figures worldwide tell us of a healthy market with two-digit annual growth, even if in some countries, mainly in Europe, it is suffering a reduction because of reconsiderations of government support policies. In Italy –which is the leading country for PV contribution to the national electric demand (8.2%)– the end of incentives has led many to declare the death of PV which however, after suffering from the initial shock, is re-stabilizing at more reasonable values, far from the past years insane growth (370 MW installed in 2016; 600 MW annual installation expected in 2020). …