• DOI:10.1126/science.1169616
• Corpus ID: 37524007

Photovoltaics Power Up

@article{Swanson2009PhotovoltaicsPU,
  title={Photovoltaics Power Up},
  author={Richard M. Swanson},
  journal={Science},
  year={2009},
  volume={324},
  pages={891 - 892}
}

• R. M. Swanson
• Published 15 May 2009
• Engineering
• Science

The power-generating capacity of solar cells, while currently small relative to other sources, is increasing exponentially. The global photovoltaic (PV) power industry is experiencing dramatic technology advances and market growth. Over the past 20 years, manufacturing output has grown by a factor of 200, reaching 5 gigawatts (GW) in 2008. The total accumulated installed capacity is now around 15 GW. This is quite small relative to the world's 4000 GW of installed electric generation capacity—just 0.375% to be precise. However, industry leaders expect similar rapid growth over the coming years, with PV generation a major contributor to power generation 20 years hence (1).