What is the Future for Solar Panels?

Written-by

Janet Richardson

Reviewed-by

Richard Burdett-Gardiner

Updated on

Dec 16, 2024

What is the Future for Solar Panels?

With more and more people choosing to install photovoltaic systems, the solar technology industry is growing rapidly. Despite the government ending the FIT (Feed-in Tariff) payments in March 2019, solar technology continues to be popular causing the price of systems to fall. With grid electricity prices going up year on year it remains a good time to invest in PV technology. 

The solar industry is expected to continue to grow as the technology becomes more efficient and affordable.  Many more investors are being attracted to the sector recognising the importance of renewable energy for our future. The solar industry has seen remarkable technological advancements which makes it a crucial component in the global shift towards renewable technology. The highest-ever solar generation record in the UK was recorded at 10.971 gigawatts (GW) on April 20, 2023. Despite, fewer average daily sunshine hours, solar power production increased by 4.1% to 13.8 TWh in 2023.

Why the Future of Solar is Bright

Greater efficiency
Because improvements are being made in solar cells and materials, solar panels are becoming more efficient at converting sunlight into electricity.

Greater affordability
The cost of solar panels is expected to continue to fall making them more accessible for individuals and businesses. 

Greater reliability
Solar power is now more reliable than ever as users can store excess energy for later use due to the development of energy storage technologies such as lithium-ion and solid-state batteries. 

Greater adaptability
Solar energy is expected to be used in more places, including:

• Buildings: Solar shingles and transparent solar panels can be integrated into windows and other building materials.
• Transportation: Solar-powered vehicles and solar panels for electric power vehicles are expected to become more common. 
• Industrial sector: Solar steam generation and solar thermal storage are expected to become more widely used. 

Greater competition
Solar energy is expected to become more competitive with fossil power and other renewable energy sources.

Greater innovation
New technologies like perovskite solar panels, bifacial solar panels, and building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are expected to develop and grow.

Technological Advances
In terms of technological advances, PV companies continue to make large strides, including the development of higher efficiency (20%) PV cells and hybrid cells. These technologies are becoming increasingly accessible for the mass market. A new type of material for next-generation solar cells has been created which eliminates the need to use lead. This has been a major barrier to increasing the efficiency of this technology.

Scientists have been working on incorporating the mineral perovskite in solar cells since the material was first shown to work in 2009. Solar cells that are created using this material are more efficient than current solar panels. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are a type of solar cell that uses a perovskite-structured material to harvest light. They are made from a hybrid organic-inorganic lead or tin halide-based material. 

Traditional solar panels capture 15% to 18% of the solar energy on average, while perovskite solar cells have been found to be as much as 28% efficient. Even higher efficiencies have been reached with some tandem cells up to an almost 34% efficiency rate. A tandem solar cell is a solar panel made of multiple solar cells stacked on top of each other to convert more of the sun's energy into electricity. PSCs can be made with perovskite materials that are around 90% pure, as they are less sensitive to impurities, making them cheaper to produce. They are also lightweight and flexible and can be processed using coating techniques. PSCs also have the advantage of being able to generate power even indoors and in low-light conditions. 

However, there are major obstacles to using these materials commercially because they are not stable and they contain water-soluble lead, which is a health hazard. PSCs are also not easy to mass produce and can deteriorate quickly.

Led by Letian Dou, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Purdue University* a new team of scientists and engineers has developed a sandwich-like material that incorporates organic and inorganic materials to form a hybrid structure that doesn't use lead and has much-improved stability.

"These structures are very exciting," Dou said. "The sandwich structures are like semiconductor quantum wells that are widely used today in many electronic and optoelectronic devices, but they are much easier to produce and more tolerant to defects," In a paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society the scientists had incorporated the material into an essential component of many electronic devices. Yao Gao, lead author of both research papers and a postdoctoral fellow in Dou's research group, said the new organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite materials are cheaper and perform better than a traditional inorganic semiconductor. Also, Gao said, the new material's design strategy could serve as a blueprint for many other functional hybrid materials.  

"Solar cells, as many people have demonstrated, can be highly efficient. With our new technology, we can make the hybrid perovskite materials intrinsically more stable. By replacing the toxic lead, these new materials are better for the environment and can also be safely used for bioelectronics sensors on the body."

Some manufacturers are combining perovskite with silicon layers to create hybrid solar cells for better performance and stability. Researchers have also developed PSCs with a lifetime of about 30 years, which could open the way to commercialisation. 

Transparent Cells

Some PV companies in the United States are developing near-transparent cells made from a glass-like plastic material, which greatly minimise the aesthetic impact of PV arrays, although at present these are not widely available in the UK. There are only a few companies in the UK that install transparent solar panels. However, transparent solar panels are gaining traction in the UK and are expected to become more common in the future Transparent and paper-thin technology could allow electricity to be generated from windows and other discrete objects on the fly.

Solar Skins

Solar skins are a thin, flexible, transparent material that can be used to generate electricity from sunlight. They are infused with tiny particles called “Quantum Dots” that become excited when exposed to photons, the main component of sunlight. Solar skins can preserve up to 99% of the energy from sunlight. They are a relatively new invention that can be laid over solar panels, so they blend in with the roof of your home. So, for people who are concerned about the appearance of traditional panels, solar skins are a great incentive. They have also been designed to reduce the risk of fire by integrating fire protection products and systems. 

Floating Solar Farms

Traditional solar farms can take up land, which is expensive and might be needed for other reasons like agriculture or housebuilding. For this reason, engineers have developed floating solar power plants which can be placed offshore.  Solar panels can be installed onto floating platforms in bodies of water such as lakes, reservoirs, and oceans. These water-cooled floating photovoltaic (PV) systems or floatovoltaics can produce more energy than land-based ones. Floating solar farms have other benefits too. They limit air circulation and block sunlight from the surface of the water which reduces water loss through evaporation. They can also prevent certain types of algae from growing which can lower the cost of water treatment. On top of that the water below the floating solar farm helps to keep the solar panels clean and minimises energy waste.

There are very few floatovoltaic installations currently operating in the UK. Europe’s largest floating solar panel array was funded and completed in March 2016 by Lightsource BP on London’s Queen Elizabeth II reservoir. Nova Innovation successfully launched its first floating solar project powering Forth Ports’ headquarters with renewable energy in the port of Leith in Edinburgh. Since then. Nova Innovation has formed a joint venture with engineering specialist RSK, named AquaGen365, to roll out more floating solar projects. Other firms are looking at their potential options for future floatovoltaic projects. 

Power Storage Solutions and Energy Management

Another factor influencing the popularity and take-up of solar energy technology is the rise of innovative power storage solutions. The more energy storage technology evolves the more solar power users can store excess energy generated during peak sunlight hours for use during periods of low sunlight or at night. Both lithium-ion and solid-state battery technologies are advancing, but there are still challenges to overcome before solid-state batteries can become the industry standard. Together with the advancements in battery technology, intelligent energy management systems will enable households and businesses to increase their solar energy usage and reduce their dependence on grid-supplied power. 

Global Solar Capacity

The global installed solar capacity in 2024 is estimated to be 593 gigawatts (GW), which is a 29% increase from 2023. This is a huge increase if you compare this figure with Global PV installations for the year 2019 which reached about 121 GW. BloombergNFF conservatively projected in early 2020 that some 15 countries were likely to be able to lay claim to the status of being members of Solar’s “gigawatt club” in 2019.

Global solar installations are expected to grow significantly in the next decade, with some projections calling for a nearly tripling of capacity. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) projects that total solar installations will increase by nearly 130% between 2022 and 2030. The IEA – International Energy Agency forecasts that global renewable capacity will reach 7,300 GW by 2028, which is 2.5 times its current level.

The global solar market has been growing due to several factors, including declining costs, supportive policies, technological improvements, and increased manufacturing capacity. In 2023, China led the world in solar capacity growth, installing 63% of the world's new solar capacity. In the first seven months of 2024, China added 28% more solar capacity than in the same period in 2023. In the first seven months of 2024, India installed 77% more solar capacity than in the same period in 2023. The United States is also experiencing growth in its solar market. In the first six months of 2024, the US installed 55% more solar capacity than in the same period in 2023. Europe's solar capacity has also grown significantly in the last decade, with the EU-27's solar PV capacity reaching 269 GW by the end of 2023. Other countries experiencing solar capacity growth include Brazil, Vietnam, and Poland.
Edurne Zoco, director, of Clean Technology & Renewables, IHS Markit predicted in 2020: 

“China will remain in the preeminent position as the overall leader in solar installations. But this decade will see new markets emerging in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Still, the major markets will continue to be critical for the development of the solar industry, especially as test beds of technological innovation, policy development, and new business models.”

More in the Blog -  Check out our blog for current news and developments in the solar panel industry renewable energy blog.
________________________________________
*Purdue University. "New material points toward highly efficient solar cells." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 November 2019...