The impact of silicon feedstock on the PV module cost

Abstract

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords:Cost assessment Crystalline silicon Silicon feedstockThe impact of the use of new (solar grade) silicon feedstock materials on the manufacturing cost of wafer-based crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules is analyzed considering effects of material cost, efficiency of utilisation, and quality. Calculations based on data provided by European industry partners are presented for a baseline manufacturing technology and for four advanced wafer silicon technologies which may be ready for industrial implementation in the near future. Iso-cost curves show the technology parameter combinations that yield a constant total module cost for varying feedstock cost, silicon utilisation, and cell efficiency. A large variation of feedstock cost for different production processes, from near semiconductor grade Si (30€/kg) to upgraded metallurgical grade Si (10€/kg), changes the cost of crystalline silicon modules by 11% for present module technologies or by 7% for advanced technologies, if the cell efficiency can be maintained. However, this cost advantage is completely lost if cell efficiency is reduced, due to quality degradation, by an absolute 1.7% for present module technology or by an absolute 1.3% for advanced technologies.

Quantitative characterization of silicon solar cells in the electro-analytical approach: Combined measurements of temperature and voltage dependent electrical parameters

“…The solar cell parameters characterized here with the collective set of IS and LSV results are largely affected by the material/ device processing conditions used for device fabrication. This underscores the utility of electro-analytical tests in aiding the development/processing of new cost-effective Si based solar cell materials (such as ultra-metallurgical grade Si 59,60 ). The temperature and voltage dependencies of cell parameters based on such trial materials can be quantitatively characterized using LSV and IS, and subsequently, can be correlated with material designs and processing conditions as a useful tool for optimizing the control variables of the latter.…”

Performance Analysis of a Grid-Connected Upgraded Metallurgical Grade Silicon Photovoltaic System

“…However, the high cost of PV cells made from conventional solar grade silicon is a hindrance to the rapid growth of the PV industry. One promising alternative is to use PV cells made from upgraded metallurgical grade silicon (UMG-Si) purified via the metallurgical process route [2][3][4]. The production of UMG-Si can be five times more energy efficiency than the conventional Siemens process to produce solar grade silicon; hence, the cost of UMG-Si is much lower [5,6].…”

Electro-analytical characterization of photovoltaic cells by combining voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy: voltage dependent parameters of a silicon solar cell under controlled illumination and temperature

“…Detailed measurements of the characteristic parameters of silicon solar cells are critical to optimizing new material-designs and processing techniques that are driving various recent developments in the photovoltaic (PV) technologies. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] However, most D.C. techniques traditionally used for solar cell characterization are not particularly useful for probing the A.C. parameters that are necessary for designing transient loads of such devices. [1][2][3][4] Furthermore, as the thicknesses of solar cells progressively drop, and as electron recombination in the back surface becomes important with the development of better base materials, the back-surface-field (BSF) feature 9,10 becomes rather standard in new Si cells.…”