Solar PV - The early days...

In 1838 the photoelectric effect was discovered by physicist Edmund Becquerel although it wasn't until the 1950's that the technology was developed enough to produce efficient working cells. During the 50's and 60's Solar PV was put on satellites and sent into orbit but it was still too expensive for general use.

The next few decades brought better technology with lower prices and Solar PV was installed in world-wide remote villages to provide electricity for where there was no supply. Grid-connected Solar PV has had a massive growth since 1990's in the more developed countries of the world.

 

How does it work?

The photovoltaic (PV) process converts sunlight, the most abundant energy source on the planet directly into electricity. The equipment required for this process has no moving parts and as a result requires minimal maintenance.
In addition, the electricity is generated with no emissions and no noise.

 

A PV cell consists of two or more thin layers of semiconducting material, most commonly silicon. When the cell is exposed to light, electrical charges are generated and this can be conducted away by metal contacts as direct current (DC).

The electrical output from a single cell is small, therefore multiple cells are connected together to provide a more useful output. Cells connected in this way are encapsulated (usually behind glass) to form a weatherproof module or panel.

Multiple modules can likewise be connected together in order to provide sufficient power for common electrical appliances.

 

PV technology has many applications in the UK, both for stand-alone systems and for integration onto buildings. PV has been used for many years in the UK in applications such as monitoring stations, radio repeater stations, telephone kiosks and street lighting to name just a few examples.

 

There is also a substantial market for PV technology in the leisure industry, with battery chargers for boats and caravans, as well as for powering garden equipment such as solar fountains.

PV technology is also widely used in the developing world. The technology is particularly suited here, where electricity grids are unreliable or non-existent, with remote locations often making PV power supply the most economic option.
In addition, many developing countries have a high level of solar radiation levels year round.

 

Today's solar PV market in the UK

Up until recently, the uptake of solar PV in the UK was somewhat behind other European countries, especially those countries who had estabished succesful feed-in tariff schemes.

 

We needed the industry kickstarted in order to make systems more financially viable and thus produce economies of scale to further increase system implementation.

 

This kickstart came in the form of the MCS feed-in tariff which became active in April 2010. This transformed the solar PV market in the UK almost overnight and has helped produce sustained growth until the end of 2011.

 

In spite of the recent reduction of the FIT, which incidently is not intended to come into effect until April 1st, 2012, Solar PV is still a worthwhile installing! The returns are still good and the costs are coming down all the time.