Cost of solar module production in China and other countries

The European Technology and Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics (ETIP PV) has released a report, “PV Manufacturing in Europe: Ensuring Sustainability through Industrial Policy,” which compares the cost of solar panel production in China, the EU, the US, and India.

The authors once again tried to find an answer to the question: of how to make it possible to produce competitive solar panels in Europe. We already reviewed a similar report in May last year, when ETIP noted that the cost of energy is the main obstacle to the development of the solar industry in the EU.

The Europeans have long had plans to bring a full value chain in the solar industry back to the continent, and are implementing many initiatives to achieve this. However, so far it’s not working out very well. Let’s say, the other day Meyer Burger promised to close a factory to produce solar modules in Germany.

The work examined the most “advanced” technologies of photovoltaic modules today: TOPCon, heterojunction (HJT), and “tunnel return contact” (TBC).

ETIP PV data shows that China can produce TOPCon panels at costs between US$0.160 and US$0.189 per watt; India $0.195; US $0.281; EU from 0.243 to 0.3 dollars per watt.

HJT and TBC panels are slightly more expensive in all markets, but differences remain between regions (see chart).

The comparison was carried out using the example of a vertically integrated factory…