Research report submitted to the faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of Witwatersrand, in 50% fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Public and Development Management. March 2018 / The outputs in this report are based on the experiences, beliefs and perceptions of a crosssection of Solar Photovoltaic industry stakeholders on whether Local Content Requirements is an appropriate policy instrument for building a local industry and the extent to which the Local Content Requirements of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme have led to an increase in the South African solar component manufacturing capacity since the programme’s inception in November 2011. Protectionist policies, including Local Content Requirements, were used by now industrialised countries to develop their respective countries, and continue to be used to this day despite World Trade Organisation prohibitions. Four models on building local industries are discussed and their relationship to the two research questions explored. Interview participants agreed that the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme was instrumental in building a large-scale local renewable energy industry in the country, created jobs and excitement around manufacturing capacity potential. However, many believe that programme design and implementation interventions are required to improve the programme’s localisation impacts. The latest draft Integrated Resource Plan’s sizeable allocation for Solar Photovoltaic until 2030 presents an opportunity to drastically improve localisation benefits for the country. / GR2019

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A methodology is developed to study the interrelations between photovoltaics (PV) and storage systems in the context of demand side management. This study concentrates on the most prominent types of storage systems and photovoltaic technologies, which are lead acid batteries and single crystalline silicon cells and amorphous silicon cells, respectively. The methodology concentrates on the daily operating cost of the system. Only from a detailed comparison of alternatives can we develop a system that maximizes the benefits of photovoltaics and storage systems, while remaining cost competitive. This methodology consists of several steps that include; simulation runs to determine yearly energy production and consumption, life cycle costing, and analysis of daily cost graphs. During the analysis several items including photovoltaic and storage system technologies, different demand limits and demand charges, and different amounts of load control and purchased electricity as well as different PV and electricity costs are discussed, and the following conclusions are reached. The type of photovoltaics used plays an important role in the system design. The amorphous cells seem to have a lower performance degradation in cloudy or hazy conditions, but single crystalline cells have a lower operating cost especially when there is high sunlight. The cost of photovoltaics also has a great effect on the daily operating cost. By keeping the cost of photovoltaics low (around $2.00/watt), the overall daily operating cost decreases while increasing the photovoltaic array size. This shows that photovoltaics can have a positive economic benefit. The effect of battery cost and on the daily operating cost is minimal. This is because its cost per day is a small part of the total daily operating cost. On the other hand, the demand limit and demand charge greatly effect the magnitude of the daily operating cost. The main component of the daily operating cost is purchased electricity. The daily operating cost increases as the cost of purchased electricity increases. / Master of Science

The objective of this thesis is to develop low-cost high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells which are at the right intersection of cost and performance to make photovoltaics (PV) affordable. The goal was addressed by improving the optical and electrical performance of silicon solar cells through process optimization, device modeling, clever cell design, fundamental understanding, and minimization of loss mechanisms. To define the right intersection of cost and performance, analytical models to assess the premium or value associated with efficiency, temperature coefficient, balance of system cost, and solar insolation were developed and detailed cost analysis was performed to quantify the impact of key system and financial parameters in the levelized cost of electricity from PV.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Organic semiconductors are used to manufacture thin film (smaller than 50nm) photovoltaic devices. Layer thicknesses are calibrated with the use of an AFM and QCM crystals. An in house method is prepared for solar cell comparison, and AM1.5G (one sun equivalent) testing is performed on manufactured solar cells. The importance of layer thickness and the exciton blocking layers are also highlighted. Numerical modelling of the optical electric field amplitude is done by the transfer matrix method, to take optical interference effects into consideration. The photo generated current was extracted as a function of absorption with varying position in the active layers, and used to excite a general model for organic photovoltaic cells. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Organiese halfgeleiers word gebruik vir die vervaardiging van dun-film (kleiner as 50nm) fotovoltaïse toestelle. Laagdiktes is gekalibreer deur die gebruik van ’n AFM en QCM kristalle. ’n Inhuis metode is voorberei vir die vergelyking van vervaardigde selle. Daarna is AM1.5G (een son ekwivalente) toetse uitgevoer op die vervaardigde sonselle. Die belangrikheid van laag dikte en die “exciton” blok lae word ook beklemtoon. Numeriese modellering van die optiese elektriese veld amplitude word gedoen deur die oordrag matriks metode, om optiese interferensie gevolge in ag te neem. Die foto-gegenereerde stroom is as ’n funksie van absorpsie onttrek met wisselende posisie in die aktiewe lae, en is gebruik in ’n algemene model vir organiese fotovoltaïse selle.

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M. Tech. (Department of Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology) -- Vaal University of Technology / Einstein said, ‘‘the release of energy has not created a new problem, but has made more urgent the necessity of solving an existing one’’. This dissertation presents a method of optimising the available output power from a photovoltaic (PV) panel through empirical testing as this will enable a higher yield of solar energy thereby reducing dependence on traditional energy sources such as fossil fuels. The proposed study intends using existing equations of latitude, mathematical models and simulation packages in combination with the experimental data to analyse the optimum tilt and orientation angles for PV panels. This will assist in identifying ways to improve the installation of PV panels for optimum output power in the Vaal Triangle. Photovoltaic panels are semiconductor devices that convert incident direct beam radiation to electrical energy and the panel is composed of several unitary cells connected in series and/or in parallel. The optimisation process involves the empirical testing of the entire system with the use of existing equations of latitude as suggested by literature for PV installation in the southern hemisphere, power conditioning devices (such as an DC-DC converter, solar charger with MPPT) in order to validate results as well as the correlation of empirical results with a simulation package. The first objective was to have an overview of the types of PV panels that exist; this was done in order to be able to make a right choice of PV panel to be used in this research. A concise literature review was carried to enable this research to have a background of existing information in the areas of optimisation of power from PV panels. The next objective was to carry out a pilot study, this was done to form the foundation for the main study. A data-logging interface circuit (DLIC) was incorporated in the system for some reasons presented in subsequent chapters of this dissertation. At the end of this study data were taken over a two year period, the data were analysed and conclusions were drawn and some recommendation in optimising available output power from a PV panel are suggested. / Vaal University of Technology, Telkom South Africa Ltd, TFMC Pty LTD, M-TEC and THRIP

M.Sc. / Techniques for the fabrication of polycrystalline silicon solar cells have advanced in recent years with efficiencies exceeding 17%. The major advantage of polycrystalline silicon is its low cost relative to single-crystalline silicon. The disadvantage is the significantly smaller minoritycarrier bulk diffusion length and inhomogeneous nature of the material. These two drawbacks are due to the presence of grain boundaries as well as high concentrations of dislocations and other physical and chemical defects. In this study the experimental conditions were determined to fabricate solar cells on polycrystalline silicon substrates. The controlled diffusion of phosphorous into silicon and subsequent evaluation of the doped layers (by spreading resistance profiling and chemical staining) were important aspects of this study. From these results the diffusion parameters (i.e. temperature and reaction times) could be optimized in order to improve the solar cell output parameters. Additional material improvement (increase in surface- and bulk minority carrier lifetimes) was demonstrated by the hydrogen passivation of electrically active defects in polycrystalline silicon. However. measurements on hydrogenated silicon samples also indicated that excess passivation can result in surface damage and subsequent reduction in the minority carrier lifetimes. Preliminary solar cells were fabricated on polycrystalline silicon with efficiencies ranging between 0.5 and 6% (total area = 16 cm2).