Reaching grid parity using BP Solar crystalline silicon technology

This paper reports on BP Solar´s DOE sponsored Solar America Initiative, Technology Pathways Partnership. The paper presents the goals, the technical approach and progress from the first nine months of the program. The overall goals of the program are to reach grid parity for residential and commercial markets and to increase production volumes. This program is addressing all aspects of the PV product chain from raw materials including silicon through installation of the systems at the customer site. To achieve parity with the grid and growth to gigawatt levels of production requires involvement of this entire product chain. To this end the program involves 16 subcontractors including materials vendors, production equipment manufacturers, balance of system component vendors and research laboratories — both university and industrial. During the first nine months of the program progress has been made in casting, wire sawing, processing of thinner cells, development of additional sources of AR coated glass and cost reduction in the encapsulation package.