Thin-film photovoltaic cells are deposited on glass, plastic, stainless steel and other low-cost substrates to form very thin photosensitive materials to achieve photoelectric conversion, including photovoltaic cells. thin layers of silicon (a-Si, a-Si/c -Si
etc.), cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS).
The packaged thin film solar cell itself has no pollution, but there is pollution during the refining of production materials. For example, there is pollution during the refining of silicon materials.
In addition, certain thin film battery materials are themselves polluting. For example, cadmium can cause severe liver and kidney damage, pneumonia, pulmonary edema and death in industrial toxicology. Therefore, FirstSolar, the world's largest mid-layer battery companynce to cadmium telluride, has implemented a recovery and recycling plan for prepaid photovoltaic modules due to the cadmium pollution problem. That is, any customer who purchases FirstSolar solar modules can use them in the module on demand. for end-of-life recycling, First
Solar will cover the costs of recovery and recycling of these products.
Basically:
Crystalline silicon has high efficiency, high price, high pollution, low flexibility (cannot be bent), and is suitable for applications on small surfaces, such as spacecraft. energy supply. , Street lights are installed for domestic use, roofs, waterway indicators, etc., and are suitable for places with area restrictions.
The film has low efficiency, low price , low pollution and high flexibility. , and is suitable for use in vasyour areas, such as Xinjiang and Tibet. The light source is sufficient, and the large area is not suitable for farming or living. It is better to install thin-film power plants in such places. is very flexible and can be flexibly bent at different angles, it is also suitable for curtain walls. The only downside is that the light source is sufficient. The conversion efficiency is too low, but as technology improves, this bottleneck will no longer be a problem. sooner or later, thin film technology has improved and advanced, so it is favored by most people.