How can we lower the cost of solar panels?

To reach even lower costs that could enable use of these solar cells in a broader set of markets, further reductions in substrate costs and increases in production volume would be required.

How much does it cost to manufacture a solar cell?

These include only the costs of the solar cells themselves, and not the cost of any packaging, or interconnects and cover glass. We estimate current III-V manufacturing costs from $40/W DC to over $100/W DC,

How to reduce III-V solar cell costs?

4 Pathways to Reduce III-V Solar Cell Costs Based on our analysis of current III-V solar cell costs, we can four key areas for cost reduction: scaling up production volume, reducing epitaxial growth costs, substrate costs, and metallization costs. Production yield improvements will also be critical across all these areas.

What factors influence cost reductions in solar photovoltaics?

Beyond the learning curve: factors influencing cost reductions in photovoltaics U.S. energy research and development: Declining investment, increasing need, and the feasibility of expansion Pillai, U., Cruz, K., 2013. Source of Cost Reduction in Solar Photovoltaics.

What is the cost of capital for a solar cell company?

This assumes a 14.8% weighted-average cost of capital (WACC), consistent with what has been estimated for other PV manufacturing companies (Powell et al. 2015) (again, no data on cost of capital for III-V solar cell companies are publicly available). A 20-year project life, 2% inflation rate, and a combined state and federal tax rate of 25.7%. 8

How much does a single junction solar cell cost?

(next page) shows the step-by-step cost breakdown for the single junction GaAs solar cells and dual-junction GaInP/GaAs solar cells under these assumptions with a production volume of 3,800 cells/month (roughly 200kW/year). The total manufacturing cost for the single-junction cell at 28% efficiency is calculated to be $41W, with an MSP of $69/W.