section_path: Mainstream technologies/Solar energy/Photovoltaics
section_name: Photovoltaics
paragraph_text: Photovoltaics
  
  A photovoltaic system, consisting of solar cells assembled into panels, converts light into electrical direct current via the photoelectric effect. PV has several advantages that make it by far the fastest-growing renewable energy technology. It is cheap, low-maintenance and scalable; adding to an existing PV installation as demanded arises is simple. Its main disadvantage is its poor performance in cloudy weather.
  
  PV systems range from small, residential and commercial rooftop or building integrated installations, to large utility-scale photovoltaic power station. A household's solar panels can either be used for just that household or, if connected to an electrical grid, can be aggregated with millions of others.
  
  The first utility-scale solar power plant was built in 1982 in Hesperia, California by ARCO. The plant was not profitable and was sold eight years later. However, over the following decades, PV cells became significantly more efficient and cheaper. As a result, PV adoption has grown exponentially since 2010. Global capacity increased from 230 GW at the end of 2015 to 890 GW in 2021. PV grew fastest in China between 2016 and 2021, adding 560 GW, more than all advanced economies combined. Four of the ten biggest solar power stations are in China, including the biggest, Golmud Solar Park in China.