[DesuMaiden]

And how is solar panel constructed? Can anyone tell me a comprehensive list of all of the components and materials required for manufacturing a solar panel?

[kublikhan]

Depends what kind of solar cells you are talking about. I'm going to assume you are asking about traditional solar cells.

1. Raw silicon is extracted from sand. Silicon is the 2nd most abundant material on Earth.
2. Raw silicon is melted in ovens.
3. Silicon ingots are formed from molten silicon and cut into rectangles.
4. Silicon rectangles are cut into thin wafers and washed.
5. Wafers are placed in chemical bath to rough up the surface(or layered with anti-reflective coating).
6. phosphorus-nitrogen layer is added to the silicon wafers and cooked in an oven.
7. Silver alloy is printed onto the cells.
8. Solar cells are then tested to determine electrical connectivity and sorted.
9. Solar cells are soldered together into a solar module.
10. Solar panels are laminated behind a pane of glass.

Video: How Solar Panels are Made

Main ingredients are silicon(sand) and energy. There's other materials for a complete system like framing, wiring, inverters, etc but that should cover the basics.

If you are instead asking about thin film, there are several different kinds of thin film. Here is the most popular one:

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaics describes a photovoltaic (PV) technology that is based on the use of cadmium telluride, a thin semiconductor layer designed to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity. Cadmium telluride PV is the only thin film technology with lower costs than conventional solar cells. The rare abundance of tellurium is comparable to that of platinum in the earth's crust and contributes significantly to the module's cost.


Recycling
As of 2009 over 100 GW of solar PV modules had been installed worldwide. First Solar established the first global and comprehensive recycling program in the PV industry. Its recycling facilities operate at each of First Solar’s manufacturing plants and recover up to 95% of semiconductor material for reuse in new modules and 90% of glass for reuse in new glass products.

Cadmium telluride photovoltaics

Video: CdTe Thin Film Solar Module Manufacturing

[DesuMaiden]

Depends what kind of solar cells you are talking about. I'm going to assume you are asking about traditional solar cells.

1. Raw silicon is extracted from sand. Silicon is the 2nd most abundant material on Earth.
2. Raw silicon is melted in ovens.
3. Silicon ingots are formed from molten silicon and cut into rectangles.
4. Silicon rectangles are cut into thin wafers and washed.
5. Wafers are placed in chemical bath to rough up the surface(or layered with anti-reflective coating).
6. phosphorus-nitrogen layer is added to the silicon wafers and cooked in an oven.
7. Silver alloy is printed onto the cells.
8. Solar cells are then tested to determine electrical connectivity and sorted.
9. Solar cells are soldered together into a solar module.
10. Solar panels are laminated behind a pane of glass.

Video: How Solar Panels are Made

Main ingredients are silicon(sand) and energy. There's other materials for a complete system like framing, wiring, inverters, etc but that should cover the basics.

If you are instead asking about thin film, there are several different kinds of thin film. Here is the most popular one:

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaics describes a photovoltaic (PV) technology that is based on the use of cadmium telluride, a thin semiconductor layer designed to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity. Cadmium telluride PV is the only thin film technology with lower costs than conventional solar cells. The rare abundance of tellurium is comparable to that of platinum in the earth's crust and contributes significantly to the module's cost.


Recycling
As of 2009 over 100 GW of solar PV modules had been installed worldwide. First Solar established the first global and comprehensive recycling program in the PV industry. Its recycling facilities operate at each of First Solar’s manufacturing plants and recover up to 95% of semiconductor material for reuse in new modules and 90% of glass for reuse in new glass products.

Cadmium telluride photovoltaics

Video: CdTe Thin Film Solar Module Manufacturing

What are the thin films used for? Why does the solar panel need a thin film?

[kublikhan]

Thin film solar cells are a second, different type of solar cell. They were created because they were much cheaper to manufacture than traditional solar cells. You could literally print them from an inkjet printer so manufacturing costs were fairly low. However most thin film solar cells require rare earth elements like tellurium or indium. So the component costs were fairly high. At the same time, traditional solar cells dropped substantially in price in the last few years. So many thin films actually ended up more expensive than traditional solar cells. This led to many thin film manufacturers going bankrupt. You probably read about a few(Solyndra, Optisolar, Signet Solar, Unisolar, Abound Solar, PrimeStar, MiaSolé, Nanosolar, AQT, Solopower, etc.) First Solar is still around cranking out thin films. But the majority of the solar cell market is traditional solar cells.

Even though thin films have lost their traditional cost advantage over traditional solar cells, they still have other advantages. As their name implies, they are thinner. They are also flexible. You can literally roll them out over your roof instead of having to install mounting framework for a traditional solar panel. This saves on installation costs and may be more aesthetically pleasing than a thick framed traditional mount. They also handle adverse conditions better like scorching heat, rain, or cloudy days.

They have disadvantages too though:
1. Less efficient so take up more space to get an equal amount of power.
2. Shorter lifespan than traditional solar cells.
3. Cadmium is toxic so may pose end of life problems if not recycled properly.
4. Telluride is rare so scaling this up to power all of society would not be possible.

Advantages Make Thin Film Solar Panels Shine

Pros and Cons of Different Types of Solar Cells

[DesuMaiden]

Thin film solar cells are a second, different type of solar cell. They were created because they were much cheaper to manufacture than traditional solar cells. You could literally print them from an inkjet printer so manufacturing costs were fairly low. However most thin film solar cells require rare earth elements like tellurium or indium. So the component costs were fairly high. At the same time, traditional solar cells dropped substantially in price in the last few years. So many thin films actually ended up more expensive than traditional solar cells. This led to many thin film manufacturers going bankrupt. You probably read about a few(Solyndra, Optisolar, Signet Solar, Unisolar, Abound Solar, PrimeStar, MiaSolé, Nanosolar, AQT, Solopower, etc.) First Solar is still around cranking out thin films. But the majority of the solar cell market is traditional solar cells.

Even though thin films have lost their traditional cost advantage over traditional solar cells, they still have other advantages. As their name implies, they are thinner. They are also flexible. You can literally roll them out over your roof instead of having to install mounting framework for a traditional solar panel. This saves on installation costs and may be more aesthetically pleasing than a thick framed traditional mount. They also handle adverse conditions better like scorching heat, rain, or cloudy days.

They have disadvantages too though:
1. Less efficient so take up more space to get an equal amount of power.
2. Shorter lifespan than traditional solar cells.
3. Cadmium is toxic so may pose end of life problems if not recycled properly.
4. Telluride is rare so scaling this up to power all of society would not be possible.

Advantages Make Thin Film Solar Panels Shine

Pros and Cons of Different Types of Solar Cells

Thank you very much.