ABSTRACT
Photovoltaic (PV) conversion is the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity with no intervening heat engine. PV devices are solid state; therefore, they are rugged and simple in design and require very little maintenance. Perhaps the biggest advantage of solar PV devices is that they can be constructed as stand-alone systems to give outputs from microwatts to megawatts. That is why they have been used as the power sources for calculators, watches, water pumping, remote buildings, communications, satellites and space vehicles, and even megawatt-scale power plants. PV panels can be made to form components of a building skin, such as roof shingles and wall panels. With such a vast array of applications, the demand for photovoltaics is increasing every year. In 2012, global PV installations were approximately 32 GW with a cumulative global total of more than 100 GW.
