Synopsis submitted by

S.ARUNACHALM
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Achariya College of Engineering Technology, Puducherry India
20 /5/2015
SOLAR THIN FILM TECHNOLOGY
1. ASTRACT
Solar PV thin film technologies reduce the amount of material required in creating a solar cell.
Although this reduces material cost, it may also reduce energy conversion efficiency. Thin film
silicon cells have become popular due to cost, flexibility, lighter weight and ease of integration
an interesting aspect of Solar PV thin film is the possibility to deposit the cells on a variety of
building materials, including flexible materials like waterproof roof covering membranes

2: MOTIVATION
Several Indian cities and towns are experiencing rapid growth in the peak electricity demand.
The local governments and the electricity utilities are finding it difficult to cope with this rapid
rise in demand and as a result most of the cities/towns are facing electricity shortages. In this
context, the Development of Solar Cities programme is designed to support/encourage Urban
Local Bodies to prepare a Road Map to guide their cities in becoming renewable energy cities
or solar cities.
INDIA, is primarily an agricultural country out of which only 80% is electrified remaining 20%
is not electrified because those are hilly areas where transmission and distribution of electric
power is very difficult so this solar thin film PV technology will provide a solution for this . Thin
film technology cells are printed on glass in many thin layers in order to produce the desired
modules. Manufacturing them requires less material than producing crystalline cells because no
cutting is needed. In addition they only require lamination on one side since they are glued to a
glass pane on the other side during the production process
3. BACKGROUND
Every day, light hits your roofs solar panels with photons (particles of sunlight). The
solar panel converts those photons into electrons of direct current (DC) electricity. The
electrons flow out of the solar panel and into an inverter and other electrical safety devices. The
inverter converts that DC power (commonly used in batteries) into alternating current or AC
power. AC power is the kind of electrical that your television, computer, and toasters use when
plugged into the wall outlet. Solar system components work together to power your business
with clean energy from the sun.
Solar Panels

Solar panels are installed on your roof or adjacent structure. These panels are made up of
photovoltaic (PV) cells, which convert sunlight into DC power. These cells dont need direct
sunlight to work; they can still generate some electricity on a cloudy day.

Inverter
The DC power from the solar panels is sent to an inverter, where it is converted into AC power,
or standard electrical current used to power your facility. Specifically, the PV inverter has
features that maximize the energy available from a photovoltaic energy system. The power of a
PV panel is dependent on the voltage and current of the PV panel which can vary.
Electrical Panel
AC power travels from the inverter to the electrical cabinet, often called a breaker box. This
power is then available to service all of your electrical needs.
Utility Meter
The utility meter continually measures your electrical supply; when your solar system produces
more power than you need, the meter literally spins backwards, accumulating credits with the
utility company that will offset your next bill.
Utility Grid
Your business remains connected to the utility grid to supply you with electricity when you need
more power than your system has produced, such as at night.

4. HYPOTHESIS
The hypothesis of the study was that installations of solar photovoltaic and solar thermal panels
add value to, or increase the salability of, the properties in Oxford on which they are installed.
The hypothetical value added could be expected to be a function of: expected fuel savings per
year (x) expected number of years during which savings will accrue (i) consumer discount
rate (r) 1 This is also an assumption made in the governments Green Deal Impact Assessment
(Department of Energy and Climate Change 2011). Opticon1826, Issue 11 (Autumn 2011) 2
These parameters can be expressed as net present value to the house buyer as: Where R =
expected annual revenue, r = consumer discount rate, i = amount of years over which the savings
will accrue and C = the initial cost. If we assume that the average Oxford house buyer stays in a
property for 12 years (HM Government 2009), the average saving per year is 50 for a solar
thermal system (EST 2010a), 190 for solar PV system (EST 2010b) and the capital cost to the
house buyer is zero, we could expect solar thermal panels to add 341 to the value of a property
and solar photovoltaic panels to add 1295. 2 This calculation assumes that: the house buyer has
reliable information on the savings associated with the solar panels the house buyer knows at
the time of purchase how long they will stay in the property no other information or perception
affects their decision, such as familiarity with the technology, association with 'green' issues, or

the converse, or aesthetic opinions, positive or negative. In reality the perceptions and
associations a householder has regarding solar technology are likely to be as important, if not
more important, to their purchase decision than the economic benefits. Furthermore, it would be
wrong to assume that the influence of solar panels on house prices will always be positive; the
study hypothesizes that 'direction of travel' would be different according to whether the
individual has positive or negative perceptions of and associations with solar technology.

5. SHORTCOMINGS:
Listed below are few of the major roadblocks related to cost, pollution, location, reliability that
makes it impossible to harness energy all through the year.
1. Initial Cost: The initial cost of purchasing and installing solar panels always become the first
disadvantage when the subject of comes up. Although subsidy programs, tax initiatives and
rebate incentives are given by government to promote the use of solar panels we are still way
behind in making full and efficient use of solar energy. As new technologies emerge, the cost of
solar panels is likely to decrease and then we can see an increase in the use of solar cells to
generate electricity.
2. Location: The location of solar panels is of major importance in the generation of electricity.
Areas which remains mostly cloudy and foggy will produce electricity but at a reduced rate and
may require more panels to generate enough electricity for your home. Houses which are
covered by trees, landscapes or other buildings may not be suitable enough to produce solar
power.
3. Pollution: Most of the photovoltaic panels are made up of silicon and other toxic metals like
mercury, lead and cadmium. Pollution in the environment can also degrade the quality and
efficiency of photovoltaic cells. New innovative technologies can overcome the worst of these
effects.
4. Inefficiency: Since not all the light from the sun is absorbed by the solar panels therefore most
solar panels have a 40% efficiency rate which means 60% of the sunlight gets wasted and is not
harnessed. New emerging technologies however have increased the rate of efficiency of solar
panels from 40 to 80% and on the downside have increased the cost of solar panels as well.
5. Reliability: Unlike other renewable source which can also be operated during night, solar
panels prove to be useless during night which means you have to depend on the local utility grid
to draw power in the night. Else you can buy solar batteries to store excess power which you can
later utilize in the night.

6. Installation area: For home users, a solar energy installation may not require huge space but
for big companies, a large area is required for the system to be efficient in providing a source of
electricity.
Above disadvantages makes it quite obvious that one has to shell out good amount of money to
harness solar energy that is available free but before you reach any further conclusion lets go
through the advantages of solar power which will make you think that it would be wise to make
this investment once and then reap its benefits later.

6. OUTCOME
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Energy Foundation asked the Brattle
Group to evaluate the potential effects of adding solar photovoltaic (PV) generation in the Texas
wholesale energy market. To evaluate such effects, we used a hypothetical situation, where a
range of incremental solar PV generation was added to the supply mix of the Texas market
(ERCOT) in summer 2011.
In this report, we present the findings of this analysis, which demonstrate that adding solar PV
could have significantly reduced energy prices for electric customers in the summer of 2011.
Specifically, we estimate that adding 1,000 megawatts (MW) of solar PV could have reduced
average wholesale energy prices by approximately $0.6 per megawatt-hour (MWh); 2,500 MW
of solar PV by $1.5/MWh; and 5,000 MW by $2.9/MWh. This would have lowered total
wholesale energy payments by $155-$281 for each MWh of solar PV generation.
In addition, our analysis shows that adding incremental solar PV generation could also
significantly reduce total electricity production costs and greenhouse gas emissions as it
displaces generation from conventional, fossil-fuel plants, and these effects last through the
lifetime of the solar PV assets. Including a relatively modest assumption about the value of
avoided greenhouse gas emissions of $15/ton, the combined total value of avoided emissions and
production costs and reduced wholesale power costs due to price effects could have been $216$343/MWh of solar PV generation during the summer of 2011.
It is important to note that these figures represent the magnitude of the benefits accruing to all
consumers in lowered underlying electric energy prices in the wholesale market. Ultimately,
these savings, which correspond to the value incremental solar PV would have had in the
summer of 2011, provide a basis for comparison against all-in costs of incremental solar PV
generation; however, that is beyond the scope of this analysis.
Instead, our study examines the impact of incremental solar PV on the average ratepayer and
consequently does not distinguish between benefits to system owners and other customers.
Therefore, our results may differ from those of some prior studies, which focus on the savings
(and costs) of solar PV to individual system owners. In reality, due to a number of factors,

including the structure of retail electricity rates, benefits to system owners may differ
significantly from average customer benefits.
To analyze the effect of incremental PV generation in Texas, we chose two approaches: a
statistical approach and a model-based approach.
1.

2.

In the statistical approach, we used historical data to construct a relationship between demand
levels and energy prices, and then analyzed the price effects of solar PV by assuming that it
would have reduced the net load that needs to be served by generators with higher
incremental costs whenever the PV resources were generating power.
In the model-based approach, we used publicly available data to construct electricity supply
curves based on the estimated variable costs of generation sources, ordered from least to
most expensive. We then estimated marginal energy prices by finding the most expensive
marginal generator needed to meet demand in each hour. To estimate the impact of solar PV,
we compared the results for a system with current levels of solar PV to the results for a
system with incremental amounts of solar PV added.

Our analysis focuses on the benefits of incremental solar PV generation that may come from
wholesale energy markets. Incremental solar PV generation would likely have other benefits.