The importance of the photovoltaic conversion efficiency for reaching the grid parity
A. Righetti, P. Franco, G. Grasso, M. Martinelli,
"The importance of the photovoltaic conversion efficiency for reaching the grid parity",
Proceedings of the Solar Energy Tech 2010,
8th July 2010, Milano, Italy, pp.79-86,
ISBN 978-1-4467-3765-1
Abstract:
The remarkable cost reduction achieved by photovoltaic technology in the last year has raised in the public opinion the expectation that this renewable energy source will possibly be competitive with fossil fuel technology (grid parity) in the near future. For a detailed comparison among the costs of energy produced by different technologies, the so-called Levelized Energy Cost (LEC) is recognized as an effective and comprehensive parameter.
In this paper we analyze and evaluate the impact of photovoltaic panel cost and power conversion efficiency on the LEC. The results obtained for the present and expected cost and performances of the three major photovoltaic technologies in the market (bulk silicon, thin film and concentrated photovoltaic) are presented and discussed.
Keywords:
Photovoltaic, levelized energy cost, grid parity, conversion efficiency
References:
Domenico Coiante – L’attuale tecnologia fotovoltaica permette di raggiungere la competitività economica? – www.aspoitalia.it – 21 febbraio 2010
Warren Nishikawa et al. – LCOE for Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV) – ICSC-5 – November 16-19, 2008
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