Terawatt-scale photovoltaics: Transform global energy

Nancy M. Haegel; Harry Atwater; Teresa Barnes; Christian Breyer; Anthony Burrell; Yet-Ming Chiang; Stefaan De Wolf; Bernhard Dimmler; David Feldman; Stefan Glunz; Jan Christoph Goldschmidt; David Hochschild; Ruben Inzunza; Izumi Kaizuka; Ben Kroposki; Sarah Kurtz; Sylvere Leu; Robert Margolis; Koji Matsubara; Axel Metz; Wyatt K. Metzger; Mahesh Morjaria; Shigeru Niki; Stefan Nowak; Ian Marius Peters; Simon Philipps; Thomas Reindl; Andre Richter; Doug Rose; Keiichiro Sakurai; Rutger Schlatmann; Masahiro Shikano; Wim Sinke; Ron Sinton; B.J. Stanbery; Marko Topic; William Tumas; Yuzuru Ueda; Jao van de Lagemaat; Pierre Verlinden; Matthias Vetter; Emily Warren; Mary Werner; Masafumi Yamaguchi; Andreas W. Bett; National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

doi:10.1126/science.aaw1845

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Terawatt-scale photovoltaics: Transform global energy

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Terawatt-scale photovoltaics: Transform global energy

Nancy M. Haegel, Harry Atwater, Teresa Barnes, Christian Breyer, Anthony Burrell, Yet-Ming Chiang, Stefaan De Wolf, Bernhard Dimmler, David Feldman, Stefan Glunz, …

Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), Vol.364(6443), pp.836-838

31/05/2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw1845

PMID: 31147512

Abstract

Improving costs and scale reflect looming opportunities 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 TW-scale PV has caught many observers, including many of us ( 1 ), 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.

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Title: Terawatt-scale photovoltaics: Transform global energy
Creators - without role: Nancy M. Haegel - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Harry Atwater - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Teresa Barnes - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Christian Breyer - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Anthony Burrell - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Yet-Ming Chiang - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Stefaan De Wolf - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Bernhard Dimmler - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
David Feldman - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Stefan Glunz - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Jan Christoph Goldschmidt - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
David Hochschild - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Ruben Inzunza - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Izumi Kaizuka - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Ben Kroposki - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Sarah Kurtz - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Sylvere Leu - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Robert Margolis - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Koji Matsubara - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Axel Metz - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Wyatt K. Metzger - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Mahesh Morjaria - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Shigeru Niki - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Stefan Nowak - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Ian Marius Peters - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Simon Philipps - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Thomas Reindl - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Andre Richter - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Doug Rose - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Keiichiro Sakurai - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Rutger Schlatmann - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Masahiro Shikano - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Wim Sinke - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Ron Sinton - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
B.J. Stanbery - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Marko Topic - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
William Tumas - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Yuzuru Ueda - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Jao van de Lagemaat - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Pierre Verlinden - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Matthias Vetter - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Emily Warren - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Mary Werner - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Masafumi Yamaguchi - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
Andreas W. Bett - Author affiliations are listed in the supplementary materials
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Publication Details: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), Vol.364(6443), pp.836-838
Identifiers: 9945824108331
Academic Unit: King Abdullah University of Science & Technology
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article