COST OF SOLAR ENERGY
How Do we Calculate Solar Energy Costs?
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Levelized Cost of Electricity Values
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CRITICAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT COST-COMPETITIVENESS
The efficiency of a solar cell refers to how effectively it can convert the light that hits its surface into electricity. With current technology, the efficiency can be anywhere from 6% to 46%. Common residential solar cells have an efficiency range between 15%-20%.
When manufacturers measure the efficiency of their solar cells, the must do so under standard test conditions (STC) to ensure that everyone is playing by the same rules. The STC’s correspond to a clear sunny day with a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius.
HOW TO ACCOUNT FOR INTERMITTENCY
There are a large number of materials one can use to create a solar cell. Most of the different materials involve trade-offs between cost and efficiency. The reason that there are so many choices is that the dollars per Watt gap between them is relatively close. This has resulted in the respective researchers trusting that their design has a chance to be the best in the future.
Here are the four most common solar cells materials.
What's the latest in renewable technologies?
Here are the latest developments.
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