Photovoltaics: Recent Developments, Opportunities and Challenges

Photovoltaics, the conversion of sunlight to electricity using a solar cell, has been is use for sixty years. Over the last decade, however, it has attracted again a lot of attention from scientists, technologists and energy policy makers. As a consequence, new materials have been explored, existing technologies have been made cheaper and more efficient, and photovoltaics has emerged as one of the primary sources for renewable energy.

This talk will focus on three aspects of photovoltaics. Firstly, some of the broad features of solar PV will be discussed, including issues like the available solar resource, the economics of solar PV technology, and the achievement of grid parity. Second, some of the new developments in solar cells will be discussed. This includes the discovery of new materials like CZTS and perovskites, the creation of new device structures like nanocrystal-based tandem cells, and the evolution of new technologies like ink-based roll-to-roll printing and IBC silicon cells. These developments hold the promise for improving performance and reducing costs of solar cells. Finally, some of the opportunities and challenges for large-scale deployment of solar PV in India will be addressed: the feasibility of attaining 100 GW of solar power in India by 2022, the long-term reliability of solar modules in the hot Indian climate, and utilizing the ‘Make in India’ mission to create a solar India

About Prof. Juzer Vasi:

Juzer Vasi is a Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. He has worked in the areas of microelectronics and photovoltaics. He was Principal Investigator of the “National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education” (NCPRE) at IIT Bombay, and is currently India Research Thrust Leader for Photovoltaics of the “Solar Energy Research Institute for India and the US” (SERIIUS). He was an Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices during 1997-2003, and is currently an Associate Editor of Frontiers in Solar Energy. He is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of IEEE, and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet of the Government of India.

He has a B.Tech. degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay, and a Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University.