ENGINEERING CONNECTIONS

Challenges Facing Solar Power Generation

Higher cell efficiency, lower system costs, reliability and

geopolitical systems all pose challenges to this market’s

growth. The cost of a solar electric system is represented as

dollar/watt. The current cost of a utility based solar electric

system is $3.3/W (Source: DOE). Government programs

are funding research to help drive down the cost to $1/W to

help this market expansion. The different cost components

that make up this system cost are provided in figure below.

The panels represent more than 50% of the system cost; the

balance of system (BOS) represents 43% and solar inverters

represent 6%. In order to reach the aggressive $1/W target,

advancement in all PV system components is compulsory.

Power electronics, while a small portion of the total cost,

will drive harvesting efficiency and therefore is critical.

Panel manufacturers have made significant progress in

cost reductions through new manufacturing processes and

improvements in the conversion efficiencies of the solar cells.

As the panel costs drop further in the future, the BOS and

Solar Inverter costs will become a dominant part of the total

system cost.

Component Choices for Efficient, Cost-Effective

and Reliable Implementations

Regardless of which topology is used, designers must make

careful choices when selecting the individual components.

The necessary improvements in performance, cost, reliability

and efficiency require special attention to the following

factors and their ultimate impact on the overall system:

Component count:

cost, size, total power dissipation, reliability

Heat/thermal management:

reliability, size/weight, cost

Minimization of losses and parasitics:

system performance, total power dissipation

Fairchild is committed to the development of components

that will help designers implement systems optimized for

these three important factors. Key building blocks for future

harvesting and conversion implementations include:

•IGBTs, and high- and mid-voltage MOSFETs

(high-voltage includes SuperFET®, SuperFET® II

and SupreMOS® MOSFETs; mid-voltage MOSFETs

incorporate PowerTrench® technology). These

products feature high current handling capability and

low conduction and switching loss.

•Gate drivers, with a wide range of options that include

optically isolated; high-speed low side; and high-voltage.

•Bypass and blocking diodes that maximize energy

prevent energy loss in storage systems.

•High-voltage silicon carbide (SiC) devices that

offer significant improvement on both cost and

efficiency in energy conversion systems as well as

higher reliability.

To obtain the complete backgrounder that includes

the discussion on Fairchild solutions, converter topologies

and complementary renewable technologies visit

www.fairchildsemi.com/applications/solar-inverter/index.html

New Semiconductor Solutions Meet the Challenges of

Efficient and Effective Generation of Renewable Power

2010

$3.40

$3.50

$3.00

$2.50

$2.00

$1.50

$1.00

$0.50

$0.0

$0.22

$1.48

$1.70

$0.18

$0.97

$1.05

$0.18

$0.97

$0.50

$2.20

Utility System with $1/W Goal

$1.00

2016

$1/Watt

Power Electronics

BOS/Installation

Module

Energy Efficiency &

Renewable Energy

Reaching Cost Reduction Targets will require

advances in all PV system components

The following article is an abridged version with sections from Fairchild’s backgrounder on solutions for the generation of renewable power.

Engineering Connections offers blogs, videos,

online seminars and podcasts that help designers

solve their design challenges and speed time-

to-market. Get the latest information at

www.fairchildsemi.com/engineeringconnections.