Advanced Photovoltaic Technology: Materials, Performance, and the Business of Solar (Online / Remote)
1Summary
The solar panel on a rooftop today is already outdated compared to what a lab is testing right now. Perovskite cells, bifacial panels, and thin-film materials are pushing efficiency and cost curves in directions that change how PV projects get designed, financed, and built — and professionals who are still working from a five-year-old understanding of the technology are making decisions with an incomplete picture.
This course from the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy brings participants up to date on where photovoltaic technology actually stands. It covers the materials and system components driving today’s efficiency gains, how to optimize and finance a PV project, how smart grids and storage are reshaping system design, and where the research pipeline is headed next — giving both engineers and decision-makers a current, practical view of the technology.
2Objectives and target group
Who Should Attend?
- Undergraduate and graduate students specializing in electrical, mechanical, or renewable energy engineering.
- Engineers, project managers, and technicians in the renewable energy sector updating their technical knowledge.
- Researchers tracking the latest advances in renewable energy technology.
- Policy, regulatory, and consultancy professionals who need a deeper technical grounding in PV.
- Entrepreneurs and investors evaluating solar energy projects or companies.
Knowledge and Benefits:
After completing the program, participants will be able to master the following:
- Understand the basic principles of photovoltaic technology and solar energy conversion.
- Compare cutting-edge materials such as perovskite cells, bifacial panels, and thin-film technologies.
- Apply methods for improving PV system efficiency and performance.
- Integrate PV technology with smart grid systems and energy storage for better energy management.
- Read current market trends, policy shifts, and economic factors shaping PV adoption.
3Course Content
Module 1: The State of Solar Today and Where PV Fits
- The global energy landscape and the growing role of solar
- Historical milestones in photovoltaic development and current adoption trends
- The current global PV market landscape, growth projections, and the policy and incentive drivers behind adoption
Module 2: How PV Cells Work
- How solar cells convert sunlight into electricity
- Monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and thin-film cell types compared
- Key performance metrics: efficiency, temperature coefficient, and degradation rate
Module 3: The Materials Race in Solar
- Next-generation materials: perovskites and organic photovoltaics
- Comparing efficiency and cost-effectiveness across materials
- Stability and scalability challenges for commercial deployment
Module 4: From Cells to a Complete System
- Essential components — modules, inverters, batteries, mounting systems — and their role in converting and optimizing power
- Design considerations across residential, commercial, and utility scale
- Site assessment, shading analysis, and sizing a system to load requirements
Module 5: Squeezing More Energy Out of Every Panel
- Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) and system configuration for energy yield
- The effect of tilt angle and orientation on production
- Using simulation tools for performance modeling and scenario testing
Module 6: Making PV Pay — Economics and Regulation
- Cost-benefit analysis across different PV systems and applications
- Financing options, incentives, ROI, and payback periods
- Interconnection standards, net metering, and international agreements shaping adoption
Module 7: Smart, Connected, and Stored — The Next Generation of PV
- Smart grid concepts and their relevance to PV integration
- IoT devices for monitoring and managing systems, and the value of real-time data
- Energy storage technologies — lithium-ion, flow batteries, thermal storage — and how to integrate them with PV
Module 8: New Places Solar Is Showing Up
- Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) and agrivoltaics
- Solar’s potential in electric vehicles and hybrid systems
- Technical and logistical challenges in PV implementation, and solutions for improving efficiency and cost
Module 9: Keeping Systems Reliable Over Time
- Maintenance practices and schedules that protect performance
- Monitoring tools, technologies, and key performance indicators for tracking efficiency and output
- Factors affecting reliability and lifespan, and the role of warranties and performance guarantees
Module 10: The Environmental Case and What’s Next
- Environmental benefits of solar and lifecycle assessment (LCA)
- Solar’s role in the broader energy transition and climate goals
- Emerging research directions, the role of startups and innovation hubs, and where PV technology is headed