Technical, Market, and Institutional Barriers... Bumps in the Road

Barriers to widespread use of solar electricity reflect technical (e.g.,
scientific and engineering), market, and institutional problems that can be
solved if we as an industry, along with our partners, address them in a unified
and complementary manner. We play a key role in removing barriers that
block solar-electric technologies from being a prominent power of choice for
our nation — a point that became clear during intensive roadmap workshops
in Chicago and Dallas during the last year involving key PV industry players.
Some solutions where we take a leading role require working with other
members of the PV community. Improving intra-industry coordination may
even result in formal partnerships among our industry members. Other
solutions where we must take the lead will require forming alliances with
others, including non-traditional partners. A common theme from the
roadmap workshops is that a coalition of forces can bring great power to any
potential solution. We are largely responsible for controlling our own destiny.

Technical barriers. For our industry to reach the goals of this roadmap, we
must address a variety of technical issues. One such issue topping the list
concerns reducing the cost of manufacturing solar-electric power
components. We need to develop low-cost high-throughput manufacturing
technologies for high-efficiency thin-film and crystalline-silicon cells. For
example, the industry has established an 18% to 20% conversion efficiency
goal at a cost of less than 50 cents per watt for each module technology.
Currently, thin-film and crystalline-silicon modules are 7% to 10% and 12%
to 14% efficient, respectively. In addition, to increase the production of
crystalline silicon at the projected rates, a dedicated supply of solar-grade
silicon feedstock must be available at less than $20 per kilogram.

In developing our roadmap, we have given considerable attention to the
technical barriers facing PV manufacturing processes. Table 1 gives some
representative examples that indicate the depth to which this barrier has been
discussed at the roadmap workshops.

Other technical barriers include the need for an improved manufacturing
infrastructure to increase throughput and yield. The rate at which PV
components are manufactured is still too low, and the projected steady
increase in manufacturing output will create even higher demands. Process
controls are inadequate, and automation is still insufficient to improve the cost
efficiency of production. Continued research and development is needed to
improve annual throughputs to about 200 megawatts per factory.

We recommend establishing a Manufacturing Center of Excellence, a key
element of which will be an Industry Technology Consortium, composed
of core equipment manufacturers, PV manufacturing industry
representatives, and university/ national laboratory research groups.
Members would contribute their multidisciplinary expertise for development
of programs and facilities for understanding and improving PV component
processing and system manufacturing.

The precedent exists for such successful joint research efforts — for
example, the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp. and
SEMATECH (the Semiconductor Manufacturing Research Consortium).¹
An important function of the Center would be regularly held industry forums
to develop standards for common equipment and to collaborate on equipment
development. These forums would also identify common problems and
solutions, including development of standard module electrical and
mechanical "interfaces," improved balance-of-systems component reliability,
and assistance in developing a more highly trained PV manufacturing labor
force.

Another barrier to the widespread use of photovoltaics is the high cost of
module materials and encapsulation. In addition, continued R&D on materials
and devices must further improve the efficiency of PV systems. Some
representative examples of critical R&D needs include high-efficiency
thin-film devices, low-temperature interconnect and contact material, and
low-cost lattice-matched substrates for compound semiconductors.

We understand that system simplicity and reliability will greatly enhance the
widespread acceptance and use of solar electricity, so we aim toward
complete systems solutions. As such, a successful PV system should be
pre-engineered, pre-packaged, and even "plug-and-play"; highly reliable,
long-lived, fault-tolerant, and shade-resistant; and easy to maintain, use
standardized components, and sold as a complete service solution.

Successful systems can be achieved in many ways, including the following
consensus ideas we formulated during the Chicago and Dallas roadmap
workshops:

• Continue to support large numbers of rooftop installations, gleaning
  valuable systems performance and reliability data for future use
• Educate the PV industry itself on successful systems integration
• Increase the experience of PV systems engineers
• Develop an incentive program — a "Golden Carrot" program — to spur
  the creation of packaged PV systems
• Continue national meetings on system performance and reliability, jointly
  sponsored by industry and the national laboratories.

Balance of systems, or BOS, is another area critical to successful PV
systems. BOS components include power inverters and other
power-conditioning equipment. In the past, less attention was paid to BOS,
compared to cell and module manufacturing, when defining our PV industry.
Today, however, we clearly realize that we must consider the entire PV
installation if we are to achieve our goals. This renewed spirit of
collaboration among companies from all segments of our industry is one of
the major outcomes of the roadmap process.

Likewise, we in the PV industry are taking the lead in going outside the PV
world to develop formal partnerships with inverter manufacturers, to create
highly reliable, relatively inexpensive, flexible, trouble-free inverters. In the
future, inverters may look more like conventional electronic systems, be free
of noise, and incorporate new power electronic topologies.

We realize that inverters must meet qualification tests and satisfy rigid
interconnection standards to help stave off the burgeoning influx into the
United States of foreign BOS components. Ideally, we will agree on and
develop common power-conversion equipment. To address BOS needs, we
must initiate a research project representing a collaboration of industry and
national laboratories.

Market barriers. A variety of market-related issues impede the robust
development of solar electricity, such as: consumer awareness and
education; government, legislative, and regulatory roadblocks; and financing.
We understand industry's lead role in modifying marketing strategies.
Toward this goal, Table 3 presents one outcome from the Chicago and
Dallas roadmap workshops of specific strategies that we ourselves will strive
to implement.

Consumers must become better educated about using solar energy — not
just for hot water and space heating, but for their electricity needs. They do
not need to worry about understanding the underlying physics of
solar-electric generation; but they will want to be firmly convinced of the
practicality and performance of PV systems over time. Consumer
awareness of and familiarity with solar technologies should start at an early
age in educational institutions and should continue into the marketplace.
When solar-electric systems become available in home repair and hardware
stores, and when consumers are offered installation assistance, PV will then
become more "mainstream."

At the same time, the construction, installation, and maintenance
infrastructure remains a barrier to widespread use of PV systems,
particularly of stand-alone systems. Installation and maintenance
professionals must become familiar with solar-electric components and
systems so that they can select, install, and maintain them for their
customers.

Successfully integrated solar electricity on commercial and residential
buildings will significantly boost the marketing of building-integrated
photovoltaics (BIPV) by removing a number of "perceived" barriers to its
use. For example, we have developed the following key steps to address
BIPV. Our short-term actions over a period of 0 to 3 years include striving
for architectural integration, and developing wiring systems for curtain-wall
applications. Our longer-term actions over a period of 3 to 10 years include:
demonstrating examples of good building design and integration; designing
value-added building products using PV; and striving for flexibility (e.g.,
range of colors) in products for architects, designers, and builders.

Other significant market barriers include the need to develop brand-name
recognition and pricing for solar-electric components and systems. Currently,
consumers — whether residential, commercial, institutional, or government
— purchase heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) products (e.g.,
water heaters, furnaces) by catalog or through vendors who sell specific
manufacturers' products. Similarly, the market for PV products will increase
through more effective branding and competitive pricing.

Institutional barriers remain, including excessive standby and
interconnection charges that prohibit integrating PV systems with grid
electricity. Even before electricity restructuring spreads across the country,
state legislatures and regulatory agencies should be deciding on equitable
interconnection charges, standby charges, and net-metering requirements and
fees for solar electricity generated in distributed applications and then sold to
the grid. Energy customers should find themselves with greater choice under
both traditional regulation and retail competition. Where traditional regulation
continues, customers ought to be free to pursue more energy efficiency and
to acquire distributed generation, including PV. Individuals and organizations
who install PV systems must not be "punished" with high charges for
interconnection, standby, and sell-back services. Yet, they need to be
confident that their distribution utility will work cooperatively with them to
allow — and indeed, encourage — grid interconnection. Equity in tax policies
for PV compared to other energy sources remains an issue on the state and
federal levels.

The value of photovoltaics is becoming clearer as consumers look to more
distributed energy opportunities in our increasingly volatile energy
environment. Barriers to a robust PV industry do exist. Nevertheless, the
product is basically sound, the market opportunities exist, and our industry's
track record has improved dramatically. Although there is much to do, we
remain confident that the barriers can be overcome and that cost can be
reduced to realize PV's promise. We will pursue the manufacturing of PV
products and the use of these commercial products in a broad range of
applications within diverse markets. Our industry will also rely on the core
R&D activities of the government and universities to help overcome
technical barriers and to address the technical issues related to the market
and institutional barriers.

Some barriers are best overcome by state or federal initiatives, whereas
others are best approached by R&D efforts in academic institutions or
national laboratories. Our PV industry members realize that breaking down
many other barriers is within their own purview. Continuing to identify and
address barriers that are clearly the responsibility of the PV industry will be a
critical activity for reaching the goals set forth in this roadmap.

1 See www.mcc.com and www.sematech.org.

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