Capital intensity of photovoltaics manufacturing: Barrier to scale and opportunity for innovation

Powell, Douglas M.; Fu, Ran; Horowitz, Kelsey; Basore, Paul A.; Woodhouse, Michael; Buonassisi, Tonio

doi:10.1039/C5EE01509J

Title: Capital intensity of photovoltaics manufacturing: Barrier to scale and opportunity for innovation

Journal Article · Mon Sep 07 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Energy & Environmental Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/C5EE01509J· OSTI ID:1235418

Powell, Douglas M. ^[1]; Fu, Ran ^[2]; Horowitz, Kelsey ^[2]; Basore, Paul A. ^[2]; Woodhouse, Michael ^[2]; Buonassisi, Tonio ^[1]

Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

In this study, using a bottom-up cost model, we assess the impact of initial factory capital expenditure (capex) on photovoltaic (PV) module minimum sustainable price (MSP) and industry-wide trends. We find capex to have two important impacts on PV manufacturing. First, capex strongly influences the per-unit MSP of a c-Si module: we calculate that the capex-related elements sum to 22% of MSP for an integrated wafer, cell, and module manufacturer. This fraction provides a significant opportunity to reduce MSP toward the U.S. DOE SunShot module price target through capex innovation.

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Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1235418

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-6A20-63703; EESNBY

Journal Information:: Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 8, Issue 12; Related Information: Energy and Environmental Science; ISSN 1754-5692

Publisher:: Royal Society of ChemistryCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 103 works

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initial factory capital expenditure
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minimum sustainable price
msp
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Title: Capital intensity of photovoltaics manufacturing: Barrier to scale and opportunity for innovation

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