The key components of photovoltaic (PV) systems are PV modules representing basic devices, which are able to operate durably in outdoor conditions. PV modules can be manufactured using different materials by different fabrication technologies. The main criteria supporting or limiting a successful placement of particular technologies on the market is the cost of electricity produced by PV systems. The Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) method takes into account the investment cost, the operating costs, and the total energy produced during the system service life. The influence of price, efficiency and service life of PV modules on LCOE (together with the availability of materials) sets limits for applicable technologies.

After 30 years of development, photovoltaic (PV) technology has been recognised to be capable of contributing significantly to future energy supply. The global cumulative installed PV power now exceeds 180 GW _p , and the annually installed power exceeds 40 GW _p . The cost of electrical energy produced by PV systems is now close to that from conventional sources. This study discusses the physics, construction and manufacture of PV cells and modules, taking into account current trends in technology. All parts of PV systems that influence the cost of the electrical energy produced are considered. Three generations of PV module are described. Crystalline silicon (c‐Si) is and will remain the dominant PV material at least until 2020 because of its high efficiency, long service time and relatively low cost. It represents nearly 90% of total module production. There are no material supply constraints to limit production and a decrease in c‐Si PV module cost to below 0.4 €/W _p before 2017 can be expected. PV power generation will reach industrial grid parity before 2020 and a cumulative installed power of 1 TW _p is expected before 2025.

The key components of photovoltaic (PV) systems are PV modules representing basic devices, which are able to operate in outdoor conditions for a long time. PV modules can be manufactured from different materials using different production technologies. The main criterion supporting or limiting the successful placement of specific technologies on the market is the price of electricity produced by PV systems. The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) method considers investment costs, operating costs, and the total energy produced during a PV system’s service life. The influence of price, efficiency, and service life of PV modules on the LCOE (together with the availability of materials) sets limits for applicable technologies. Increasing the efficiency of the modules from 21% to 23% could lead to a reduction of the area-dependent part of the PV system costs by 8.7%. Extending the service life from 25 to 30 years could reduce the LCOE by about 10%. As shown in the work, wafer-based crystalline silicon technologies best meet these criteria due to their high efficiency, low costs, long service life, and the availability of materials at present. Technological innovations make it possible to increase the efficiency of the modules closer to the physical limits and to extend the service life of the modules.

Potential induced degradation (PID) is a serious threat for the photovoltaic (PV) industry. The risk of PID may increase with increasing operating voltage of PV systems. Although PID tests are currently standard tests, the expansion of floating PV power plants and installation in humid climates show that PID-free modules are still sensitive to this type of degradation. Therefore, a method that can detect PID in the initial phase before standard tests reveal it, is necessary to increase the reliability of PV systems and maintain their lifetime. One possible tool for revealing early-stage PID manifestations is impedance spectroscopy and I-V dark curves measurements. Both IS and dark current measurement methods are sensitive to cell shunt resistance (R_SH), which is strongly influenced by PID before significant power loss and can act as an early stage PID detection mechanism. The paper describes the differences of the common P-type PV module parameters both during the degradation process and also during the regeneration process when diagnosed by conventional and IS and dark current measurement methods.

This paper surveys the present technology of carrier lifetime control in power semiconductor devices by controlling recombination centre types and concentration. The correlation of lifetime with device properties such as on-state voltage drop, off-state leakage current and switching times of bipolar devices has been elucidated. Various techniques for preserving or reducing lifetime during semiconductor device fabrication are presented. Advantages, problems and some limits of individual techniques are discussed.

There exist many photovoltaic (PV) power plants which are based on thin-film technology. Unlike PV power plant with crystalline silicon technology, the diagnostic possibilities of thin-film PV modules are limited due to seasonal effects and problematic utilization of thermography. The main problem of degradation of these PV plants is the area degradation which affects even PV power plants with transformer inverters. Although there exist measurement methods based on I–V curve measurement, these methods require specific climatic conditions (clear sky, sufficient irradiance) and time. Here, we present the novel approach to diagnose thin-film modules affected with degradation which provides quick results with low-cost equipment.