This DoShort explains, for a UK business audience, the technical, scientific and economic aspects of solar photovoltaics (PV) technologies. It is useful to anyone considering a business use of solar PV, whether an investor, potential purchaser, or thinking of setting up a company in the sector. It succinctly examines: their applications and how to assess them; the prospects and drivers for cost reductions and implementation; the role of PV in carbon offsetting;and the business case for and against investment. It will arm the reader with sufficient knowledge to talk to contractors or to compile a business investment case for senior management. PV is the sunrise sector for electricity generation; the renewable technology whose time has come. Clean, and with no moving parts to wear out, it interfaces neatly with other technologies, both digital and analogue. Cost curves are decreasing and installation curves exponentially rising. Although silicon-based cells are well-known, due to the Feed-in Tariff support they receive, within the next five to eight years, lowering production costs and technological innovations will mean that solar electricity will be poised to find even more widespread applications.
