The Manufacture of Photovoltaic Panels: The Birth of a Solar Cell

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ILLUSTRATION: MOTHER EARTH NEWS STAFF
The photovoltaic cell is made primarily of silicon, which is the most abundant element on earth.

If you’ve wondered about the manufacture of photovoltaic panels, perhaps you’d like to attend the birth of a solar cell.

Regular readers of this magazine are probably well aware that photovoltaics–the production of electricity from sunlight–is rapidly becoming a very practical alternative source of energy . . . and that solar cells are likely to play an important role in our future. Photocell installations are already popping up in great numbers, and–even today–can often beat out utility power in cost-effective applications. What’s more, in some instances the 1,000,000-watt ARCO Solar plant that’s expected to begin feeding power into Southern California Edison’s lines by early 1983, for example–solar electricity has become a mainstream alternative.

To most of us, however, the workings of a solar cell remain cloaked in mystery. Which is why, in an effort to probe the “secrets” of photovoltaic construction, I recently toured the ARCO Solar facility in Chatsworth, California . . . where I was impressed by the level of technical sophistication in the manufacture of photovoltaic panels and what is required to produce each panel. (This is not an energy alternative that–as yet, anyway–is within the reach of the backyard researcher.) I’d like you to share my experience, so let’s take a mini-tour through the fabrication process and witness the birth of a solar cell.

SANDSATIONAL

The photovoltaic cell is made primarily of silicon, which is the most abundant element on earth. (In fact, silicon’s common form is everyday sand.) Unfortunately, in its naturally occurring state, silicon contains a number of contaminants that would seriously reduce photovoltaic performance, so the ore must be refined extensively before it can be used. In fact, by the time the processed mineral reaches the manufacturing plant, in the form of polysilicon rocks, it must be at least 99.9% pure.

  • Published on Jul 1, 1982
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