How Much Photovoltaic Efficiency Is Enough?
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. The Photovoltaic Brick Stone
3. Total Cost T of an Installed Photovoltaic System
3.1. Balance of System BOS: Mounting Cost MOUNT and Fixed Cost FIX
Examples of Mounted PV Systems
3.2. Area and Power Related Cost/Prices
4. Module Mounting Decision (Mo2De) Model
4.1. Module Decision Lines
4.2. Area Related Module Decision Lines and Areal Module Cost M□
4.2.1. Cut-Off Efficiency η0
4.2.2. Mark up and Discount △M□
4.3. Power Related Module Decision Lines, M€
5. Conclusions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References and Notes
- Chapin, D.M.; Fuller, D.S.; Pearson, G.L. A New Silicon p-n Junction Photocell for Converting Solar Radiation into Electrical Power. J. Appl. Phys. 1954, 25, 676. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Philipps, S.; Warmuth, W. Photovoltaics Report. Available online: https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/de/veroeffentlichungen/studien/photovoltaics-report.html (accessed on 11 February 2022).
- Jäger-Waldau, A. Snapshot of Photovoltaics—March 2021. EPJ Photovolt. 2021, 12, 2. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Werner, J.H. Second and Third Generation Photovoltaics—Dreams and Reality. In Advances in Solid State Physics; Kramer, B., Ed.; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 2004; Volume 44, pp. 51–66. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bergmann, R.B.; Werner, J.H. The future of crystalline silicon films on foreign substrates. Thin Solid Film 2002, 403–404, 162–169. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Jackson, P.; Würz, R.; Rau, U.; Mattheis, J.; Kurth, M.; Schlötzer, T.; Bilger, G.; Werner, J.H. High quality baseline for high efficiency Cu(In1-x, Gax) solar cells. Prog. Photovolt. 2007, 15, 507–519. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Green, M.A. Third Generation Photovoltaics; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 2003; ISBN 3540401377. [Google Scholar]
- Marti, A.; Luque, A. Next Generation Photovoltaics—High Efficiency through Full Spectrum Utilization; Institute of Physics Publishing: Bristol, UK, 2004; ISBN 0750309059. [Google Scholar]
- Saliba, M.; Correa-Baena, J.-P.; Wolff, C.M.; Stolterfoht, M.; Phung, N.; Albrecht, S.; Neher, D.; Abate, A. How to make over 20% Perovskite Solar Cells in Regular (n-i-p) and Inverted (p-i-n) Architectures. Chem. Mater. 2018, 30, 4193–4201. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhang, Y.; Park, N.-G. Quasi-Two-Dimensional Perovskite Solar Cells with Efficiency Exceeding 22%. ACS Energy Lett. 2022, 7, 757–765. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Luceno-Sanchez, J.A.; Diez-Pacual, A.M.; Capilla, R.P. Materials for Photovoltaics: State of the Art and Recent Developments. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20, 976. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Werner, J.H.; Kolodinski, S.; Queisser, H.J. Novel optimization principles and efficiency limits for semiconductor solar cells. Phys. Rev. Lett. 1994, 72, 3851–3854. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Available online: https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/06/02/longi-achieves-25-21-efficiency-for-topcon-solar-cell-announces-two-more-records (accessed on 17 February 2022).
- Yoshikawa, K.; Kawasaki, H.; Yoshida, W.; Irie, T.; Konishi, K.; Nakano, N.; Uto, T.; Adachi, D.; Kanematsu, M.; Uzu, H.; et al. Silicon heterojunction solar cell with interdigitated back contacts for a photoconversion efficiency over 26%. Nat. Energy 2017, 2, 17032. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Richter, A.; Hermle, M.; Glunz, S.W. Reassessment of the Limiting Efficiency for Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells. IEEE J. Photovolt. 2013, 3, 1184–1191. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Luo, W.; Khoo, Y.S.; Hacke, P.; Naumann, V.; Lausch, D.; Harvey, S.P.; Singh, J.P.; Chai, J.; Wang, Y.; Aberle, A.G.; et al. Potential-induced degradation in photovoltaic modules: A critical review. Energy Environ. Sci. 2017, 10, 43–68. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Kales, J.; Schmidt, W.; Schwirtlich, I.; Hoffmann, W. Challenges for EFG ribbon technology on the path to large scale manufacturing. In Proceedings of the Record of the Thirty-First IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA, 3–7 January 2005; pp. 1301–1304. [Google Scholar]
- Available online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen_Solar (accessed on 17 February 2022).
- Hahn, G.; Hauser, A.; Gabor, A.M.; Cretella, M.C. 15% efficient large area screen printed string ribbon colar cells. In Proceedings of the Conference Record of the Twenty-Ninth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, New Orleans, LA, USA, 19–24 May 2002; pp. 182–185. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Lange, H.; Schwirtlich, I.A. Ribbon Growth on Substrate (RGS)—A new approach to high speed growth of silicon ribbons for photovoltaics. J. Cryst. Growth 1990, 104, 108–112. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- The price for an own purchase in 2020 for 1000 wafers, high lifetime, n-Type, single Crystalline Si, Was 20 €/m².
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sonnenenergie. Planning and Installing Photovoltaic Systems—A Guide for Installers, Architects, and Engineers, 3rd ed.; Routledge: Abdingson, UK, 2013; p. 189. [Google Scholar]
- f = 40% means that the ratio of the (slanted) PV generator’s area to the base area of the land is 40%.
- Kopecek, R.; Libal, J. Bifacial Photovoltaics 2021: Status, Opportunities and Challenges. Energies 2021, 14, 2076. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kopecek, R.; Libal, J.; Lossen, J.; Mihailetchi, V.D.; Chu, H.; Peter, C.; Buchholz, F.; Wefringhaus, E.; Halm, A.; Ma, J.; et al. ZEBRA technology: Low cost bifacial IBC solar cells in mass production exceeding 23.5%. In Proceedings of the 2020 47th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), Calgary, AB, Canada, 15 June–21 August 2020; pp. 1008–1012. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Werner, J.H.; Mattheis, J.; Rau, U. Efficiency limitations of polycrystalline thin film solar cells: Case of Cu(In,Ga)Se2. Thin Solid Films 2005, 480–481, 399–409. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Construction Material | Price [EUR/m2] | Required Price η = 10% [EUR/m2] | Required Price η = 5% [EUR/m2] |
---|---|---|---|
η = 20% module; M€ = 20 EURct/Wp | 40 | 20 | 10 |
M€ = 40 EURct/Wp | 80 | ||
Simple windows with two glasses | 100–300 | ||
Stainless steel sheets, 1 mm | 70–150 | ||
Brick stones | 40–80 | ||
Steel sheets, 1 mm | 30–50 | ||
Ceramic tiles | 10–50 | ||
High lifetime Si wafers | 15–30 | ||
Window glass | 5–20 | ||
Block board, 18 mm | 10–25 | ||
Ingrain wallpaper | 0.5–1 |
Installation Cost of PV System | EUR/m2 | EUR/kWp | Percentage [%] |
---|---|---|---|
Module purchasing price M, η = 20% | 40–80 | 200–400 | 20–40 |
Balance of systems BOS = MOUNT + FIX | |||
Module mounting cost MOUNT (material + labor) | 20–100 | 100–500 | 20–40 |
| 200–700 | 20–60 | |
Total TEUR | 700–1500 | 100 |
Item | Cost |
---|---|
Mounting substructure/material | 1250 EUR |
Labor (2 persons × 15 h × 30 EUR/h per person) | 900 EUR |
Total mounting cost | 2150 EUR |
MOUNT□ | 39.8 EUR/m2 |
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. |
© 2022 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Werner, J.H. How Much Photovoltaic Efficiency Is Enough? Solar 2022, 2, 215-233. https://doi.org/10.3390/solar2020012
Werner JH. How Much Photovoltaic Efficiency Is Enough? Solar. 2022; 2(2):215-233. https://doi.org/10.3390/solar2020012
Chicago/Turabian StyleWerner, Jürgen Heinz. 2022. "How Much Photovoltaic Efficiency Is Enough?" Solar 2, no. 2: 215-233. https://doi.org/10.3390/solar2020012