Low-cost solar power is increasingly becoming the focus of solar-cell manufacturers, new research shows.
While Chinese and Taiwanese solar-cell manufacturers have made considerable progress driving down photovoltaic manufacturing costs, commercializing next-generation cell technologies to achieve cost-effective conversion efficiency differentiation is a critical priority for market participants, says PHOTON Consulting’s new global solar-supply-chain cost study, The True Cost of Solar Power: The Pressure’s On.
According to the study, the push to reduce costs has turned to small, technology-driven increases in solar-cell conversion efficiencies to decrease supply chain costs.
In the past year, cell manufacturers have increasingly begun to incorporate novel techniques and turnkey equipment in their production lines, including approaches such as selective-emitter fabrication and novel metallization inks.
“Many capital equipment upgrades offer average commercial cell efficiency increases of only 0.1-0.5%, and require relatively high upfront investment,” says PHOTON Consulting consultant and study co-author, Chris Bolman.
“But there are a few clear winners in the space. Moreover, our three year view is that the adoption growth of next-generation cell fabrication tools will play a key role in driving the industry’s manufacturing technology roadmap and reshaping manufacturer’s competitive differentiation.”
