Fabrication of Bifacial Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells Optimized for the Arctic

Replacement of fossil fuels with solar photovoltaic technology is an effective way to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions. While solar panel deployments are considered most productive for regions of lower latitude and high sunlight hours, they can also be of great benefit in northern communities where use of fossil fuel has a disproportionally high impact, both in terms of economic cost and environmental cost. During my exchange, I will fabricate a standard bifacial silicon heterojunction solar cell with random pyramidal texturing. Once this has been done, I will vary design parameters that have a large effect on cell performance, as demonstrated through simulations. I will fabricate the solar cell design that I have simulated to be optimum for Arctic operating conditions. Finally, I will fabricate several identical cells to compose a ‘mini-module’ that can then be tested outdoors back at the University of Ottawa and eventually in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. These results will help demonstrate the feasibility of solar installations in the Arctic.

Faculty Supervisor:

Karin Hinzer

Student:

Partner:

Arizona State University

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Clean Technology; Green/Alternative Energy; Energy and Utilities

University:

University of Ottawa

Program: