Marc Wouters

2016

Electricity generated by solar energy is getting more competitive compared to the common electricity sources. The downside of this development is the increasing competition and cost pressure of solar cells- and module manufacturers and manufacturing equipment suppliers for PV systems. This paper provides an overview of the total cost of ownership (TCO) methods in the photovoltaics industry. We used a structured research method to search and characterize the relevant literature. This literature review examines eleven papers, which present the TCO calculations of several manufacturing equipment and innovative technologies. We identified four different TCO methods in literature related to the photovoltaics industry. Furthermore, the paper discusses the impact of efficiency-enhancing manufacturing equipment and technologies on the TCO calculations and how the TCO methods include these efficiency changes.