Double-sided solar energy is a module with solar cells on both sides. In addition to the front battery that absorbs sunlight, the back module can also absorb reflected light and diffused light from the ground to improve solar power output. Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables is quite optimistic about the double-sided module market and believes that the installed capacity will triple in five years and 21 GW in 2024.
Scientists believe that the amount of two-way solar energy will double by the end of the year, reaching 5.42GW. By then, the amount of conversion equipment will exceed 8.2GW. By 2024, the scale will be expanded by 10 times and the annual production capacity will exceed 21GW, accounting for the overall solar energy. 17% of the device.
There will be such a prediction that the United States has relaxed the restrictions on Article 201. In June, the United States announced that it would obtain tariff exemption for double-sided solar energy. Previously, due to high tariffs, the module cost in the United States must be 40-50% more expensive than Europe and Australia. The cost of double-sided solar energy is 25 to 35 cents per watt, and now it can save 6 to 9 cents per watt.
Although China is said to be a big solar power development country, it has supplemented the project without any compensation and reduced subsidies. The growth rate of the double-sided solar energy market may drop to 20%. Wood McKenzie pointed out that the solar energy plan in the Middle East is also very serious. With the double-sided module, the United Arab Emirates joined the double-sided ranks for the first time, and Oman also launched two double-sided generator plans with a total capacity of 920MW.
In addition, Central and South America, North Africa, Australia, and other countries have gradually introduced large-scale cases. If they use double-sided solar modules and then carry solar energy chasing systems, they can greatly improve the efficiency of power generation. For places with high electricity costs or lack of electricity. Said that the benefits are many.
In addition, it may be that solar energy costs are decreasing now. Wood McKenzie found that if the double-sided solar energy uses monocrystalline silicon PERC batteries, the production cost is only about 0.005 US dollars compared with single-sided single crystal PERC, and battery manufacturing technology. The module frame assembly technology is also inconsistent with the past.
Solar technology Perovskite batteries have advanced rapidly in recent years, and conversion efficiency has increased from 3.81% in 2009 to 25.2%, which is competitive with wafer batteries. Together with low manufacturing and material costs, simple printing and spraying can be used. It is made and uses flexible substrates to develop building-integrated solar energy. However, the cheap and efficient perovskite battery also has shortcomings. Lead and low stability are all problems that scientists have to overcome.
The solar photovoltaic structure is very similar to sandwiches, most of which are layered and stacked, while the perovskite battery is glass from top to bottom, conductive glass FTO, negatively charged ETL, photosensitive layer, positively charged hole transport layer (HTM). And metal electrodes, in which electrons flow, but the energy barrier inside the battery loses the energy of the electrons.
Therefore, the National Steel Institute of Moscow (NUST MISIS) and the University of Rome Tor Vergata decided to add MXene 2D to the perovskite battery in order to optimize the flow of electrons and re-enhance the conversion efficiency of perovskite solar energy. Titanium carbide (TiC) compound.
Aldo Di Carlo, a professor at the Second University of Rome, pointed out that MXene has a unique two-dimensional structure that can be used to adjust the surface properties of perovskites, which may be one of the best ways to upgrade emerging solar energy. Among them, MXene is a kind of excessive metal carbide or nitride. The structure is very similar to that of another magical material, graphene. It also has rich physical and chemical properties and has good application potential in the fields of battery and optoelectronics.
According to the team's research, after adding a small amount of MXene to each layer of the perovskite battery, the efficiency of the equipment has increased by more than 25%. The paper co-author Anna Pozniak pointed out that the study mainly observes what happens to the electrical properties of the semiconductor after adding MXene. With this in mind, the team believes that this new nanomaterial has great potential in large-scale manufacturing.
However, it does not mean that the double-sided module technology will go smoothly in the future. At present, double-sided solar energy is a new technology and lacks “real combat experience”. At present, the amount of double-sided solar energy is not much. In 2016, it was only 97MW, and it was only added in 2018. 2.6GW only.
In the case of small scale and high cost, it is difficult to attract developers' attention, and it is difficult to obtain the trust of banks and investors. Wood Mackenzie proposed that in addition to extensively collecting on-site data and strengthening double-sided solar simulation software in the future, It is also important to set industry standards and certifications.