Understanding Manufacturing Cost Influence on Future Trends in Silicon Photovoltaics

The value of any new photovoltaics (PV) technology depends on its anticipated performance and manufacturing cost. Computer models can be used to predict module and system performance, but there are few tools available for predicting the future manufacturing cost of PV technologies while they are still under development. This paper presents a useful approach for comparing the cost of competing silicon cell and module concepts that minimizes the extrinsic influences of location, timing, and scale. As such, it is targeted at PV specialists tasked with choosing a technology platform to develop for future production.