photovoltaic

adjective pho·to·vol·ta·ic \ ˌfō-tō-väl-ˈtā-ik , -vōl- \

Updated on: 10 May 2018

Definition of photovoltaic

: of, relating to, or utilizing the generation of a voltage when radiant energy falls on the boundary between dissimilar substances (such as two different semiconductors)

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photovoltaic

noun

Recent Examples of photovoltaic from the Web

Every state in the country now has installed photovoltaic solar to some degree.

— umair irfan, Vox, "4 maps that show who’s being left behind in America’s wind-power boom," 2 May 2018
The panels are part of a 132-kilowatt solar photovoltaic energy system projected to produce more than 205,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

— william thornton, AL.com, "Huntsville company owner received at White House," 20 Apr. 2018
Richmond and Contra Costa County officials on Wednesday unveiled the MCE Solar One photovoltaic power plant, built on land leased from the nearby Chevron refinery.

— david r. baker, San Francisco Chronicle, "Big, new solar power plant at the edge of a Bay Area oil refinery," 18 Apr. 2018
The plant will create energy by converting sunlight via photovoltaic solar arrays into direct current electricity and converting it into alternating current utilizing power inverters.

— austen erblat, Sun-Sentinel.com, "FPL gets site plan and plat approval for Westlake solar plant," 6 Apr. 2018
A hundred yards from the rusting ruins at the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, a gossamer array of almost 4,000 photovoltaic panels sits atop a thick concrete slab capping a grave of radioactive waste.

— Time, "Chernobyl Is Now the World’s Unlikeliest Green Energy Experiment," 13 Mar. 2018
The new solar plant will use nearly 200,000 photovoltaic panels.

— rye druzin, San Antonio Express-News, "San Antonio solar company buys West Texas project," 12 Mar. 2018
Solar photovoltaic installations had an average capacity factor of 27 percent in 2017.

— megan geuss, Ars Technica, "Scotland’s floating wind farm is showing how powerful offshore wind can be," 4 Mar. 2018
Currently, crystalline-silicon panels account for roughly 85 per cent of the world’s photovoltaic output.

— Scientific American, "The Perovskite Boom," 13 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'photovoltaic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Sunshine and photovoltaic

The -voltaic part of photovoltaic comes from the name of Alessandro Volta, inventor of the electric battery. Thus, unlike photoelectric cells, which use electricity for certain small tasks, photovoltaic (or PV) cells actually produce electricity. Solar cells, the standard type of photovoltaic cells (often called simply photocells), operate without chemicals and with no moving parts to create energy directly from sunlight. Much research is now being done on creating an alternative technology—solar film, which could be stuck onto almost any surface, or possibly even sprayed on.