Photovoltaics advancements for transition from renewable to clean energy

Abstract

Moving from fossil fuels toward renewable resources of energy has a worldwide consensus. Solar energy alone can satisfy all our energy requirements since the earth receives 725 ZJ of energy from the sun each year while total human energy consumption in 2019 was 0.584 ZJ. The 2010s are highlighted as a transitional decade when the photovoltaic conversion industry transformed from a subsidized to a profitable energy sector. While photovoltaic energy conversion is a clean process, technologies for producing photovoltaic materials and solar panels affect the environment. The utilization of photovoltaic materials with low impact on the environment during the entire life cycle will mark the beginning of the sustainable transition toward 100% clean renewable energy sources in a sustainable manner. Thus far, only perovskite compounds have the potential to satisfy these requirements because of their theoretical conversion efficiencies, ease of synthesis, production scalability, adaptability, and comparability to existing photovoltaic systems. In this article, the rise of the photovoltaic industry in the last decade is shown and requirements in further transition from renewable to clean sources of renewable energy are foreseen.