After following along with the instructor’s presentation and completing the assessment exercise for each module (M), students should be able to:  

• Explain in general terms how a solar cell generates electrical power from sunlight.
• Identify the critical trade-offs in cost and performance for Si solar cell and modules (M1).
• Calculate the power and energy produced by a solar module for any location and for fixed tilt or tracking installations (M1).
• Explain the process flow to fabricate a Si solar cell and a solar module (M2).
• Compare and contrast differences between different leading solar technologies (M2).
• Explain difference in goals and design criteria between off-grid and on-grid PV systems. Understand the balance of systems components necessary to connect solar modules the grid or to provide power to a off-grid customer (M3).
• Be able to design and specify components to create a simple solar and battery system to power a house (M3).
• Explain factors limiting the amount of PV which can be connected to the grid currently and what exciting new approaches are being deployed to increase solar capacity (M4).
• Describe why electrical storage is critical to enabling the expanded integration of more PV capacity (M4).
• Appreciate the role that state or federal policies have played in promoting the rapid growth in solar over the past 3 decades enabling a factor of 100 decrease in price and doubling of module lifetime and efficiency (M5).
• Understand the life-cycle environmental benefits and costs for PV modules including prospects for recycling and reducing their carbon footprint (M5).

Overview: How solar cells convert sunlight into electrical current, voltage and power will be developed without unnecessary complexity. The scaling of current and voltages when assembling cells into modules and modules into arrays and concepts of efficiency, power and energy will be explained. Students will learn how to calculate how much energy is produced in different geographic locations for any sized fixed tilt or tracking installation using publicly available data bases.

Overview: Why do solar cells and modules look the way they do? What allowed their prices to fall dramatically while their efficiency and reliability increased in the last 15 years? In this class we will cover the entire manufacturing process leading to a finished module for today’s baseline crystalline Silicon (Si) solar technology and advanced designs emerging into the marketplace will be presented in terms of cost and performance trade-offs. Reliability and degradation will be discussed using accelerated life testing and real outdoor data to show how today’s modules have >25 year lifetimes. Mature market-proven alternatives to Si such as thin film CdTe solar technology and emerging technology like perovskites will also be covered but with much less attention.

Overview: Solar modules must be connected to other component devices and structures to provide useful power to an application (called the load) or to the grid. This class covers the application of solar modules for generating PV energy in residential, commercial and utility scale energy systems. Using a very simple procedure of multiplying 4 easily obtained numbers, students will calculate the monthly and annual energy produced for solar modules in any locations for different installation configurations liked rooftop or tracking. This will enable comparisons of cost vs energy production.  The difference in system design to create off-grid vs on-grid PV energy systems will be explained.

Overview: Many states and countries have goals of reaching 50 or 100% renewable energy in the next few decades. Most studies show that solar will play a very large role in that transition. But they also show that relying on intermittent solar and wind poses significant challenges to a reliable electric grid especially because we are trying to accomplish this with last century’s grid. Some regions or utilities already meet over 30% of their annual demand with solar. What are the problems that have been identified and what solutions exist to reach the goal of a high fraction of renewable electricity while maintaining a reliable resilient grid? The essential role of PV in creating the low carbon Smart Grid and the practicality and challenges of integrating increasing amounts of PV power on the grid will be discussed in terms of battery storage and reliability. We will cover clean energy strategies to reach > 50% renewables along with new business opportunities it provides.  Topics will include microgrids, virtual power plants, smart grid and direct load control.

Overview: The solar revolution emerged due to innovative policies in several countries in the 1990’s and 2000’s which stimulated demand, creating a favorable climate for manufacturing investment. Policies and regulations have continued to drive the growth and deployment of PV until recently when some countries (or states within the US) have begun to restrict growth for various reasons. We will discuss how incentives and regulations can encourage or discourage how attractive solar projects are to utilities, investors, and homeowners. Increasingly, the public asks what is the true cost of any new technology in terms of environmental impact from cradle to grave including imbedded carbon emissions, land use, and disposal. The procedure of life-cycle analysis will be introduced and studies evaluating the environmental impact of raw material processing, manufacturing, operation and recycling of solar modules will be briefly reviewed.