THE PV ACADEMY

Speakers: Dr. Gerald Siefer, Fraunhofer ISE | Dr. Nikos Kopidakis, NREL

Tandem solar cells offer avenues to increase efficiency beyond the current state of the art for commercial photovoltaics. New absorbers and device structures including hybrids that combine different material classes such as III-V/Si or perovskite/Si are intensely researched. To guide the evolution of tandem solar cells towards commercialization, accurate measurements of performance are required. In this tutorial we will discuss how an accurate performance calibration for a tandem cell or module is done and present common measurement artifacts and methods to identify and avoid them.

Speakers: Dr. Thomas Reindl, SERIS | Dr. Alessandra Scognamiglio, ENEA

As land scarcity and land use conflicts are acknowledged as important barriers for the development of PV in many countries, Agrivoltaics and Floating PV provide a huge opportunity to achieve national energy targets for PV. Moreover, these integrated approaches to PV also offer the opportunity to solve concerns regarding the landscape transformation through an appropriate design. The key proposition is “combining land uses for multiple purposes on the same space with innovative designs and technologies”. Therefore, Agrivoltaics and Floating PV are more than just PV electricity generation technologies. For example, the partial shade of PV modules is beneficial for several crops and the modules themselves offer mechanical protection to the crops, and floating PV systems can be hybridised with existing hydropower stations. The lecture will provide an overview of the different technologies, the state-of-the-art in system designs and upcoming technology trends, but also address critical issues such as regulatory approvals, as well as social and environmental aspects.

Speakers: Cara Libby, EPRI | Dr. Claire Agraffeil, CEA

Solar energy has been recognized as one of the best candidates to lead the energy transition. Besides its massive deployment, the photovoltaic industry has an important role to play by opening prospects to sustainable and circular models. In this context, end-of-life management is one of the topics that should be carefully considered. This lecture will introduce photovoltaic waste management, including recycling approaches and development. From a global overview, the session will cover policy, regulations, and technological development, as well as trends and challenges for the next decades.