ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book outlines, for a UK business audience: the technical and scientific basis of photovoltaics (PV) technologies; their applications and how to assess them; the prospects and drivers for cost reductions and implementation; and the business case for and against investment. The book is useful to anyone considering a business use of solar PV. This might be an investor; someone considering installing a system; someone considering PV for carbon offset purposes; or someone considering setting up a solar PV business. Solar PV is the sunrise sector for electricity generation—the renewable technology whose time has come. Clean and with no moving parts to wear out, they interface neatly with other technologies in our digital world. Cost curves are decreasing and installation curves exponentially rising over a three-decade timescale.
