Crystalline silicon photovoltaics: the hurdle for thin films

✍ Scribed by Roger G. Little; Michael J. Nowlan

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 284 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1062-7995
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-159x(199709/10)5:5<309::aid-pip180>3.0.co;2-x

✦ Synopsis

The dominant photovoltaic (PV) technology today is crystalline silicon, used in 85% of the terrestrial modules shipped in 1996. Thin-®lm PV technologies promise to allow signi®cant reductions in the cost per watt of electricity generated by PV modules. However, thin ®lms must meet or exceed the standards for performance, reliability, and cost set by crystalline silicon in order to successfully penetrate the market. This paper reports the results of a detailed economic analysis done for a 25 MW year À 1 multi-crystalline silicon production facility, including crystal growth, water slicing, solar cell fabrication and module assembly. The module manufacturing cost is projected to be $1 . 78 W À1 . The sensitivity of module cost to polysilicon cost and cell eciency were determined. This analysis provides a near-term (1998±2000) cost/ performance benchmark against which thin-®lm technologies can be compared.