What is a monocrystalline silicon solar cell?

Monocrystalline silicon solar cells involve growing Si blocks from small monocrystalline silicon seeds and then cutting them to form monocrystalline silicon wafers, which are fabricated using the Czochralski process (Figure 4 a). Monocrystalline material is widely used due to its high efficiency compared to multicrystalline material.

Why are solar cells dominated by monocrystalline silicon?

It is noted that the solar cell market is dominated by monocrystalline silicon cells due to their high efficiency. About two decades ago, the efficiency of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells reached the 25% threshold at the laboratory scale. Despite technological advances since then, peak efficiency has now increased very slightly to 26.6%.

What is the integrated Moroccan solar plan?

A so called “the Integrated Moroccan solar plan” has been deployed to develop a minimum solar power capacity of 2000 MW by 2020 . More, the country is planning to raise its renewable energy target from 42 per cent by 2020 to 52 per cent by 2030 as announced during the COP21. Large scale CSP and Photovoltaic facilities are under developments.

What is the Moroccan solar Plan (MSP)?

In 2009 the Moroccan government established the Moroccan Solar Plan (MSP), aiming at the installation of large scale solar power plants with a cumulated capacity of 2,000 MW until 2020. Furthermore, it includes an integrated development strategy to strengthen the local industry participation.

What are the latest trends in silicon photovoltaic cell development?

The latest trends in silicon photovoltaic cell development are methods involving the generation of additional levels of energy in the semiconductor’s band structure. The most advanced studies of manufacturing technology and efficiency improvements are now concentrated on third-generation solar cells.