Thin film solar panels accounted for 11% of all solar panel sales in 2011. Production capacity is expected to grow at an annual rate of 24%, reaching more than 22 GW by 2020 (or a global market share of 38% in terms module production). read more
Solar cells developed rapidly in the 1950s owing to space programs and used on satellites (crystalline Si, or c-Si, solar cells with efficiency of 6–10%). The energy crisis of the 1970s greatly stimulated research and development (R&D) for PV. Solar cells based on compound semiconductors (III–V and II–VI) were first investigated in the 1960s. read more