The eight years since Electricity from Sunlight first appeared have witnessed a remarkable development in the field of renewable energy—the explosive growth of photovoltaics (PV). Global installed capacity, which reached about 40 gigawatts (GW) in 2010, is approaching 400 GW. It is even possible to imagine 1000 GW by 2020—a thousand times greater than at the start of the new millennium.

PV’s meteoric rise is due to a combination of factors: at the technical level, steady improvements in solar cells, modules, and systems; at the international political level, an ever‐increasing awareness of the threats posed by global warming; and at the production level, a dramatic reduction in costs as PV exhibits the well‐known “learning curve” of manufactured products experiencing exponential growth.

This new edition pays special attention to issues raised by PV’s extraordinary progress, especially the integration of large amounts of solar electricity into existing grid networks and its sustainability in terms of markets, resources, and life‐cycle impacts. Chapters 4, 5, and 7 have been revised and greatly expanded, and a brand new chapter on PV manufacturing has been inserted. The other chapters have all been updated.

We hope the new edition will act as an essential primer for entrants to the PV industry needing an up‐to‐date appreciation of the subject. It also offers a unique treatise on the sustainability of emerging transformative technologies, making it valuable to system analysts and energy policy strategists. Last but not least, we have included end‐of‐chapter questions and problems to support instructors and the ever‐increasing number of college and university students taking courses in renewable energy and PV.