Solar cells are only a small player in the global energy game, but can they become a real alternative as a renewable power source?
Hear the thoughts of a global expert on the subject of solar energy at our next Distinguished Lecture series to be held at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) on 9 October at Lucas Heights.
Martin Green is an Australian professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney and Executive Research Director of the University's Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence.
His group's contributions to photovoltaics include development of the world’s highest efficiency silicon solar cells and commercialization of several different cell technologies.
In his talk, Martin will provide a broad overview of an industry that has grown in the past decade to be one of the most important renewable energy sources in terms of globally installed capacity.
According to Green, the vast majority of photovoltaic solar cells that have been produced to date have been based on silicon wafers, with this dominance likely to continue well into the future.
The surge in manufacturing volume over the last decade has resulted in greatly decreased costs.
He says multiple companies are now manufacturing at costs below the US$1/Watt module manufacturing cost benchmark that was once regarded as the lowest possible with this technology.
Despite these huge cost reductions, there is obvious scope for much more of the same, particularly as the market for the polysilicon source material becomes more competitive.
But where will this lead in terms of efficiencies and what are solar cells future path?
All this will be explored in Martin's talk.
About Martin A Green
Martin is currently a Scientia Professor at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia and Executive Research Director of the University's Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence.
He is the author of several well-known books on solar cells and numerous papers. His work has resulted in many major international awards including the 2002 Right Livelihood Award, commonly known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, the 2007 SolarWorld Einstein Award and the 2010 Eureka Prize for Leadership.
In 2012, he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his contributions to photovoltaics and to photovoltaic education.