Energy is the cornerstone of modern civilization, underpinning economic development, industrial production, transportation, communication, and quality of life across all societies. The rapid industrialization of the twentieth century established fossil fuels—coal, petroleum, and natural gas— as the dominant global energy sources, a dependence that has carried profound consequences in the form of greenhouse gas emissions, atmospheric warming, and geopolitical instability linked to resource control. The global mean surface temperature has increased by approximately 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels as of 2023, driven overwhelmingly by anthropogenic CO2 and methane emissions from fossil fuel combustion. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has repeatedly emphasized that limiting warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels requires rapid, deep decarbonization of the global energy system, with renewable energy sources—particularly  solar and wind—playing a central role. Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past three decades.