Study identifies innovations driving solar cost declines

MIT researchers published a study identifying innovations that contributed to dramatic declines in photovoltaic (PV) costs since 1970.

• Key findings: The team identified 81 unique innovations affecting PV system costs (modules and balance-of-system). They separate PV module vs BOS innovations and note that many pivotal advances originated outside the solar sector (semiconductor fabrication, metallurgy, glass manufacturing, oil and gas drilling, software, utilities). The study appears in PLOS ONE (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0320676) and is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energies Technology Office.
• Quantified examples & methodology: Using their combined quantitative/qualitative framework, the authors estimate wire sawing (1980s) reduced system costs by $5 per watt by lowering silicon losses and increasing throughput. The team plans to apply the methodology to other renewable technologies and further study soft technologies (permitting, automated review) for deployment cost reductions. Authors and affiliations are listed (Jessika Trancik, Goksin Kavlak, Magdalena Klemun, Ajinkya Kamat, Brittany Smith, Robert Margolis).