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Reported timeline of research solar cell energy conversion efficiencies since 1976 (National Renewable Energy Laboratory). Solar-cell efficiency is the portion of energy in the form of sunlight that can be converted via photovoltaics into electricity by the solar cell.
This first calculation used the 6000K black-body spectrum as an approximation to the solar spectrum. Subsequent calculations have used measured global solar spectra, AM 1.5, and included a back surface mirror which increases the maximum solar conversion efficiency to 33.16% for a single-junction solar cell with a bandgap of 1.34 eV. [3]
Solar energy conversion has the potential for many positive social impacts, especially in rural areas that did not previously have grid-based energy access. In many off-grid areas, the solar-electric conversion is the fastest growing form of energy procurement.
However, the solar frequency spectrum approximates a black body spectrum at about 5,800 K, [1] and as such, much of the solar radiation reaching the Earth is composed of photons with energies greater than the band gap of silicon (1.12eV), which is near to the ideal value for a terrestrial solar cell (1.4eV).
[142] [143] A benefit of the set up is that the panels are kept at a lower temperature than they would be on land, leading to a higher efficiency of solar energy conversion. The floating panels also reduce the amount of water lost through evaporation and inhibit the growth of algae. [144]
Solar cells operate as quantum energy conversion devices, and are therefore subject to the thermodynamic efficiency limit. Photons with an energy below the band gap of the absorber material cannot generate an electron-hole pair, and so their energy is not converted to useful output and only generates heat if absorbed.