Solar photovoltaic effect, referred to as photovoltaic (PV), also known as photovoltaic, refers to the phenomenon of uneven potential between semiconductor or semiconductor and metal combination when illuminated.
Photovoltaic is defined as the direct conversion of ray energy. In practical applications, it usually refers to the conversion of solar energy to electrical energy, that is, solar photovoltaic. It is mainly realized by using solar panels made of semiconductor materials such as silicon to generate direct current using light, such as solar cells that are ubiquitous in our daily life.
Photovoltaic technology has many advantages: for example, there are no mechanical moving parts; in addition to sunshine, there is no need for any other "fuel", it can work under direct sunlight and oblique shooting; and it is very convenient and flexible from the choice of site. The roof and open space in the city can be applied. Since 1958, the solar photovoltaic effect has been applied for the first time in the field of solar satellite energy supply in the form of solar cells. Today, as small as automatic parking metering, roof solar panels, and large-scale solar power centers, their applications in power generation have spread all over the world.
Solar energy is a rapidly growing form of energy, and the solar market has also made great strides over the past decade. According to the data, the annual average growth rate of the global solar market is 47.4% based on the annual installed capacity of solar energy systems, from 598MW in 2003 to 2826MW in 2007. It is predicted that by 2012, the annual installed capacity of solar power systems may further increase to 9917MW, while the sales of the entire solar industry may increase from US$17.2 billion in 2007 to US$39.5 billion in 2012. This growth is largely due to the rapidly increasing global market demand, increasing on-grid tariffs and various government incentives.
In some of the world's major countries, especially Germany, Italy, Spain, the United States, France and South Korea, federal, state and local government agencies are reaching out to end users of solar energy products in the form of tax rebates, tax credits and other incentives. Resellers, system integrators, and manufacturers provide subsidies and economic incentives to promote the use of solar energy in grid-connected applications and reduce dependence on other energy sources. However, traditional public power companies with huge political lobbying capabilities may also try to change the relevant legislation in their markets, which may also have a relatively adverse impact on the development and commercial application of solar energy.
But overall, due to the instability of the political and economic situation in many oil and gas producing regions around the world, many governments are taking active measures to reduce their dependence on foreign energy sources. Solar energy offers an attractive power generation solution that does not create a significant dependence on foreign energy sources. In addition, increasingly prominent environmental issues and climate change risks associated with fossil fuel power generation create political incentives for governments to implement greenhouse gas reduction strategies aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and other gas emissions. Solar energy and other renewable energy sources help solve these environmental problems.
Governments around the world have implemented a variety of incentives to promote the development and application of solar and other renewable energy sources. Many European countries, some Asian countries, Australia, Canada, and many states in the United States, as well as some Latin American countries, have enacted renewable energy policies. Customer-centric financial incentives include capital cost tax rebates, mandatory PV feed-in tariffs, and tax credits. The capital cost tax rebate policy provides a fund to offset the consumer's upfront investment in the solar system. The mandatory PV on-grid tariff policy requires that the utility company pay users the electricity generated by the solar system based on the generated kilowatt hours, and the price is guaranteed for a certain period of time. These have encouraged the development of the photovoltaic industry.
In China, the bottleneck problem that has long plagued the development of China's photovoltaic industry, that is, the problems of raw materials and markets in the industrial chain structure are also supported by the policy. In the first half of the year, due to major changes in the policies of the European countries, especially Spain, in the field of solar energy, the global PV market shrank sharply, which led to the general unsatisfactory operation of global PV companies in the first quarter. In order to reverse this situation, China is determined to launch a large number of photovoltaic power generation projects, solve the problem of "sales market", and stabilize the domestic demand of the photovoltaic industry to a large extent, and rational production expectations are gradually formed. Some time ago, the Ministry of Finance also formulated the “Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Application of Solar Photovoltaic Buildings” and the “Interim Measures for the Administration of Financial Subsidy Funds for Solar Photovoltaic Building Applications”. The "Opinions" have formed two positive messages for the solar energy industry. First, the support of industrial policies, not only the central government allocated special funds, but also subsidized the eligible photovoltaic building application demonstration projects to partially compensate for the initial investment in photovoltaic applications. Moreover, the regions that have introduced relevant fiscal and tax support policies will receive preferential financial support from the central government. Second, the "solar roof plan" will stimulate the downstream demand, etc., or will form a relatively optimistic expectation, that is, expand the development space of the solar industry, and downstream demand will certainly improve.