Perspectives on the pathways for cadmium telluride photovoltaic module manufacturers to address expected increases in the price for tellurium

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

Volumn 115, Issue , 2013, Pages 199-212

  Woodhouse, Michael ^a   Goodrich, Alan ^a   Margolis, Robert ^a   James, Ted ^a   Dhere, Ramesh ^a   Gessert, Tim ^a   Barnes, Teresa ^a   Eggert, Roderick ^b   Albin, David ^a  

^a NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY   (United States)

^b Department of Geology and Geological Engineering   (United States)

Author keywords

Energy critical elements; PV economics; Solar PV module manufacturing; Tellurium; Thin film photovoltaics

Indexed keywords

CADMIUM; CONSTRAINED OPTIMIZATION; COPPER; COSTS; ENHANCED RECOVERY; II-VI SEMICONDUCTORS; MANUFACTURE; PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS; SOLAR POWER GENERATION; TELLURIUM;

CRITICAL ELEMENTS; LARGE-SCALE DEPLOYMENT; PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES; POWER CONVERSION EFFICIENCIES; SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGY; SOLAR PVS; SUPPLY DEMAND IMBALANCE; THIN FILM PHOTOVOLTAICS;

CADMIUM TELLURIDE;

EID: 84859929942     PISSN: 09270248     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.solmat.2012.03.023     Document Type: Article

References (107)

1. IPCC, Climate Change, Synthesis report of working groups I, II, and III to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change.in: R. K. Pachauri and A. Reisinger (Eds.). Geneva, Switzerland. Available online at: 〈http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data_reports/〉 (2007).
2. Wei, M., Patadia, S., Kammen, D.M., Putting renewables and energy efficiency to work: how many jobs can the clean energy industry generate in the US?. Energy Policy 38 (2010), 919–931.
3. M. Croucher, Capacity factors and solar job creation, Energy Policy, In Press (2011).
4. Sankey, Micheloto, S., Clark, D.T., The Peak Oil Market: Price Dynamics at the End of the Oil Age. 2009, Deutsche Bank, New York 67.
5. EIA, 2010 International Energy Outlook, DOE/EIA-0484 (2010).
6. A.T. Kearney, J. Hauff, M. Verdonck, H. Derveaux, L. Dumarest, J. Alberich, J.-C. Malherbe, Unlocking the sunbelt potential of photovoltaics, in: European Photovoltaics Industry Association Report, Brussels, Belgium, (2010).
7. C. Breyer, A. Gerlach, Global overview on grid-parity event dynamics, in: Proceedings of the 25th EUPVSEC, Valencia, Spain, 2010, 5283–5304.
8. M. Woodhouse, A. Goodrich, T. James, R. Margolis, D. Feldman, T. Markel, An economic analysis of photovoltaics versus traditional energy sources: where are we now and where might we be in the near future?, in: Proceedings of the 38th IEEE PVSC., Seattle, WA. NREL Report Numbers PR-6A20-52311, CP-6A20-50714, 2011.
9. Woodhouse, M., Parkinson, B.A., Combinatorial approaches for the identification and optimization of oxide semiconductors for efficient solar photoelectrolysis. Chemical Society Reviews 38 (2009), 197–210.
10. Tan, M.X., Laibinis, P.E., Nguyen, S.T., Kesselman, J.M., Stanton, C.E., Lewis, N.S., Principles and applications of semiconductor photoelectrochemistry. Inorganic Chemistry 41 (1994), 21–145.
11. Osterloh, F.E., Parkinson, B.A., Recent developments in solar water-splitting photocatalysis. MRS Bulletin 36 (2011), 17–22.
12. Khaselev, O., Turner, J.A., A monolithic photovoltaic-photoelectrochemical device for hydrogen production via water splitting. Science 280 (1998), 425–427.
13. P. Mints (Navigant Consulting). Spreadsheet of historical and near term projections of PV output, (2010).
14. P. Frankl, S. Nowak, M. Gutschner, S. Gnos, T. Rinke, International energy agency technology roadmap: solar photovoltaic energy, available online at: 〈http://www.iea.org/papers/2010/pv_roadmap.pdf〉 (2010).
15. Denholm, P., Margolis, R.M., Evaluating the limits of solar photovoltaics (PV) in traditional electric power systems. Energy Policy 35 (2007), 2852–2861.
16. Passey, R., Spooner, T., MacGill, I., Watt, M., Syngellakis, K., The potential impacts of grid-connected distributed generation and how to address them: a review of technical and non-technical factors. Energy Policy 39 (2011), 6280–6290.
17. D. Feldman, Compilation of production capacities for all global PV module firms, Q1 2012 Solar Market Analysis, US Department of Energy Solar Program Office, Washington, DC.
18. Green, M.A., Estimates of Te and In prices from direct mining of known ores. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications 17 (2009), 347–359.
19. Zweibel, K., The impact of tellurium supply on cadmium telluride photovoltaics. Science 328 (2010), 699–701.
20. Andersson, B.A., Materials availability for large-scale thin-film photovoltaics. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications 8 (2000), 61–76.
21. Feltrin, A., Freundlich, A., Material Considerations for terawatt level deployment of photovoltaics. Renewable Energy 33 (2008), 180–185.
22. Fthenakis, V., Sustainability of photovoltaics: the case for thin-film solar cells. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009), 2746–2750.
23. Wadia, C., Alivisatos, A.P., Kammen, D.M., Materials availability expands the opportunity for large-scale photovoltaics deployment. Environmental Science and Technology 43 (2009), 2072–2077.
24. Bauer, D., Diamond, D., Li, J., Sandalow, D., Telleen, P., Wanner, B., Critical Materials Strategy. 2011, US Department of Energy, Washington, DC, 192. Available online at: 〈http://energy.gov/pi/office-policy-and-international-affairs/downloads/2011-critical-materials-strategy〉.
25. K. Bradsher, China said to widen its embargo of minerals, in: The New York Times, New York, October 19, 2010, pp. B1.
26. M. George, United States Geological Survey, Annual Minerals Summary: Selenium and Tellurium, Available Online at: 〈http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/selenium/〉 (2010).
27. 〈http://www.metalprices.com〉.
28. Price, J.G, Energy critical elements: securing materials for emerging technologies. Mining Engineering 43 (2011), 33–34.
29. Ojebuoboh, F., Selenium and tellurium from copper refinery slimes and their changing applications. World of Metallurgy—ERZMETALL 61 (2008), 33–39.
30. F. Ojebuoboh, First solar & supplementing byproduct tellurium for the evolving cdte solar market, in: Presentation to the Denver Mining Club, Denver, CO, August 8, 2011.
31. R.D. Brown, United States Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summary: Tellurium, (2001).
32. R. Gillete, J. Zhu, L. Polizzotto, First Solar Q4 2010 Earnings Call.
33. Compaan, A.D., Photovoltaics: clean power for the 21st century. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 90 (2006), 2170–2180.
34. International labor comparisons (US Bureau of Labor Statistics) & international industrial electricity price index (US Energy Information Administration), Available online at: 〈http://www.bls.gov/fls/〉 and 〈http://www.eia.gov/emeu/international/elecprii.html〉.
35. Olson, S., First solar breaks ground on its thin-film PV module manufacturing plant in Vietnam. PV-Technology, 22, 2011 Available 〈 http://www.pv-tech.org/news/first_solar_breaks_ground_on_its_pv_module_manufacturing_plant_in_vietnam〉.
36. C. Whitmore, First solar unveils new arizona module facility, PV-Tech. (August 22, 2011), available online at: 〈http://www.pvtech.org/news/first_solar_unveils_new_arizona_module_facility〉.
37. Ogier, T., Rugman, J., Spicer, L., The Real Cost of Capital. 2004, Prentice Hall Financial Times, London 29–60.
38. R. Gillete, M. Widmar, L. Polizzotto, Q1 2011 First solar earnings call.
39. Gupta, A., Parikh, V., Compaan, A.D., High efficiency ultra-thin sputtered CdTe solar cells. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 90 (2006), 2263–2271.
40. 〈http://www.MetalBulletin.com/〉; London, 2011.
41. Conversation with a major CdTe material supplier, on the condition of anonymity. September 2011.
42. Ojebuoboh, F., Three macro trends in copper production and implications for tellurium. Proceedings of European Metallurgical Conference 2011 1 (2011), 95–109.
43. CRC, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. 1986, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
44. Zweibel, K., Issues in thin film PV manufacturing cost reduction. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 59 (1999), 1–18.
45. R. Gillette, M. Widmar, L. Polizzotto, First solar Q2 2011 earnings call.
46. Shockley, W., Queisser, H., Journal of Applied Physics, 32, 1961, 510.
47. X. Wu, J.C. Keane, R.G. Dhere, C. DeHart, D.S. Albin, A. Duda, T.A. Gessert, S. Asher, D.H. Levi, P. Sheldon, 16.5% Efficient CdS/CdTe Polycrystalline Thin-Film Solar Cell, Proceedings of the 17th EUPVSEC, (2001) 995–1000.
48. M. Ahearn, L. Polizzotto, J.E. Carrington, B. Sohn, D. Eaglesham, J. Meyerhoff, First solar analyst/investor meeting (Slide 93): top down efficiency potential of CdTe, in: Las Vegas, NV, 2009.
49. S.H. Demtsu, J.R. Sites, Quantification of losses in thin-film CdS/CdTe Solar Cells, IEEE Photovoltaics Specialist Conference, (2005) 347.
50. 2/SLG prepared by novel manufactuirng process, Proceedings of 19th EUPVSEC, (2004) 1721–1724.
51. McCandless, B.E., Sites, J.R., Luque, A., Hegedus, S., (eds.) Handbook of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering, 2003, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, West Sussex, England 617–657.
52. X. Wu, in: Proceedings of 28th IEEE PVSC, 2000, 470–474.
53. A. Gupta, A.D. Compaan, All sputtered 14% CdS/CdTe device with ZnO:Al front contact, 3rd World conference on photovoltaic energy conversion, Osaka, Japan, (2003).
54. Davies, A.R., Sites, J.R., Enzenroth, R.A., Sampath, W.S., Barth, K.L., All-CSS processing of CdS/CdTe thin-film solar cells with thin CdS Layers. Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings 1012 (2007), 157–162.
55. J.E. Granata, J.R. Sites, G. Contreras-Puente, A.D. Compaan, Effect of CdS thickness on CdS/CdTe quantum efficiency, Proceedings of the 25th IEEE PVSC, (1996) 853–856.
56. Vigil-Galan, O., Brown, M., Ruiz, C.M., Vidal-Borbolla, M.A., Ramirez-Bon, R., Sanchez-Meza, E., Tufino-Velazquez, M., Calixto, M.E., Compaan, A.D., Contreras-Puente, G., On the doping problem of CdTe films: the bismuth case. Thin Solid Films 516 (2008), 7013–7015.
57. Compaan, A.D., Sites, J.R., Birkmire, R.W., Ferekides, C.S., Fahrenbruch, A.L., Critical issues and research needs for cdte-based solar cells. Electrochemical Society Proceedings 99 (1999), 241–251.
58. R.C. Powell, NREL subcontract report: research leading to high throughput manufacturing of thin-film CdTe PV modules, in: NREL Subcontractor Report, First Solar, Perrysburg, OH, 2004.
59. Karpov, V.G., Compaan, A.D., Shvydka, D., Effects of nonuniformity in thin-film photovoltaics. Applied Physics Letters 80 (2002), 4256–4258.
60. Hsiao, K.-J., Sites, J.R., Electron reflector strategy for CdTe solar cells. IEEE Photovoltaics Specialist Conference, 2009, 001846–001850.
61. Gloeckler, M., Sites, J.R., Potential of submicrometer thickness CIGS solar cells. Journal of Applied Physics, 98, 2005, 103703.
62. K.-J. Hsiao, J.R. Sites, Electron reflector to enhance photovoltaic efficiency: application to thin-film CdTe solar cells, Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, (2011) 10.1002/pip.1143.
63. J.R. SitesThin film photovoltaics: what are the reliability issues and where do they occur?, Proceeding of the 35th IEEE PVSC, (2010) 494–498.
64. Fortunato, E., Ginley, D., Hosono, H., Paine, D.C., Transparent conducting oxides for photovoltaics. MRS Bulletin 32 (2007), 242–247.
65. Coutts, T.J., Young, D.L., Li, X., Characterization of transparent conducting oxides. MRS Bulletin 25:8 (2000), 58–65.
66. T. Barnes, T. Gessert, Enhanced performance of FTO via Zr Addition, IEEE Photovoltaics Specialist Conference. Seattle, WA, In Press (2011).
67. Ferekides, C.S., Mamazza, R., Balasubramanian, U., Morel, D.L., Transparent conductors and buffer layers for CdTe solar cells. Thin Solid Films 480–481 (2005), 224–229.
68. First Solar, Annual 10-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, in: 2010. Available online.
69. Trina Solar Q1 2011 Earnings Call Presentation.
70. W.P. Mulligan, D.H. Rose, M.J. Cudzinovic, D.M. DeCeuster, K.R. McIntosh, D.D. Smith, R.M. Swanson, Manufacture of Solar Cells with 21% Efficiency, Proceeding of the 19th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, (2004).
71. A. Goodrich, P. Hacke, Q. Wang, B. Sopori, R. Margolis, T. James, D. Hsu, M. Woodhouse, A silicon photovoltaics roadmap: technical improvement opportunities and cost reduction pathways, In Preparation (2012).
72. Nemet, G.F., Beyond the Learning curve: factors influencing cost reductions in photovoltaics. Energy Policy 34 (2006), 3218–3232.
73. S.H. Demtsu, J.R. Sites, Quantification of Losses in Thin-Film CdS/CdTe Solar Cells, Proceedings of 31st IEEE PVSC, (2005).
74. Deckman, H.W., Roxlo, C.B., Yablonovitch, E., Maximum statistical increase of optical absorption in textured semiconductor films. Optics Letters 8 (1983), 491–493.
75. Yablonovitch, E., Cody, G.D., Intensity enhancement in textured optical sheets for solar cells. IEEE Transactions on Electronic Devices 29 (1982), 300–305.
76. Amin, N., Sopian, K., Koagai, M., Numerical modeling of CdS/CdTe and CdS/CdTe/ZnTe solar cells as a function of CdTe thickness. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 91 (2007), 1202–1208.
77. Gupta, A., Matulionis, I., Drayton, J., Compaan, A.D., Effect of CdTe thickness reduction in high efficiency CdS/CdTe solar cells. MRS Proceedings: II–IV Compound Semiconductor Photovoltaic Materials Symposium 668 (2001), 1–6 H6.4.
78. Gupta, A., Compaan, A.D., High efficiency 1 μm thick sputtered CdTe solar cells. Proceedings of 31st IEEE PVSC, 2005, 235–238.
79. V.V. Plotnikov, D. Kwon, K.A. Wieland, A.D. Compaan, 10% Efficiency Solar Cells with 0.5 m of CdTe, in: IEEE PVSC, Philadelphia, PA, 2009, 001435–001438.
80. Kanellos, M., Sets, First Solar, First solar sets efficiency record: 17.3 Percent. 2011, GreenTech Media.
81. Ferekides, C.S., Marinskiy, D., Viswanathan, V., Tetali, B., Palekis, V., Selvaraj, P., Morel, D.L., High efficiency CSS CdTe solar cells. Thin Solid Films 361–362 (2000), 520–526.
82. Paudel, N.R., Plotnikov, V.V., McClellan, C., Wieland, K.A., Liu, X., Compaan, A.D., CdTe cell stability vs CdS thickness. Proceedings of 34th IEEE PVSC, 2009, 001174–001176.
83. Nakamura, K., Gotoh, M., Fujihara, T., Toyama, T., Okamoto, H., Influence of CdS window layer on 2-um thick CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 75 (2003), 185–192.
84. Albin, D.S., Yan, Y., Al-Jassim, M.M., The effect of oxygen on interface microstructure evolution in CdS/CdTe solar cells. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications 10 (2002), 309–322.
85. xS/TCO/glass: a new CdTe thin film solar cell structure. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 61 (2000), 203–211.
86. H. Hovel, Solar cells Academic Press, New York, 1975.
87. Karpov, V.G., Cooray, M.L.C., Shvydka, D., Physics of ultrathin photovoltaics. Applied Physics Letters, 89, 2006, 163518.
88. Liu, X.X., Sites, J.R., Solar-cell colllection efficiency and its variation with voltage. Journal of Applied Physics 75 (1994), 577–581.
89. Romeo, N., Bosio, A., Tedeschi, R., Canevari, V., Growth of polycrystalline CdS and CdTe thin layers for high efficiency thin film solar cells. Materials Chemistry and Physics 66 (2000), 201–206.
90. Nelson, J., The Physics of Solar Cells. 2003, Imperial College Press, London.
91. Dobson, K.D. et al., Stability of CdTe/CdS thin-film solar cells. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 62 (2000), 295–325.
92. Giacomo, G.D.Please complete Refs. [92,99,104] by adding endpage.Please check the Guide for Authors at www.elsevier.com/locate/solmat for examples., Reliability of Electronic Packages and Semiconductor Devices, 1997, McGraw-Hill, New York.
93. M. Osborne, NREL confirms latest CdTe module efficiency record from First Solar, in: PV-Tech. Available online at: 〈http://www.pvtech.org/news/nrel_confirms_latest_cdte_module_efficiency_record_from_first_solar〉 January 17, 2012.
94. Annual 10-K Filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission: Apollo Solar Energy, in: 2011. Available online.
95. Bleiwas, D.I., Byproduct mineral commodities used for the production of photovoltaic cells. USGS Circular, 1365, 2010, 10 pg.
96. M.W. George, D.S. Edelstein (USGS)F. Ojebuoboh, (First Solar), NREL-facilitated teleconference, (September 9 2011).
97. D. Edelstein, United States Geological Survey, in: United States Geological Survey, 2011.
98. Directory of copper mines and plants, international copper study group: directory of copper mines and plants, 〈http://www.icsg.org〉 (2010).
99. Knockaert, G., Ullman's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry: Tellurium and Tellurium Compounds. 2005, Verlag GmbH & Co., Weinheim, Germany.
100. J.E. Hoffman, M.G. King, S.C. Carapella, J. Oldfield, R.D. Putnam, Tellurium and Tellurium Compounds, in: Kirk-Othmer Encylopedia of Chemical Technology, 2001.
101. 〈http://www.eia.gov/oiaf/ieo/ieoecg.html〉.
102. Fthenakis, V.M., Wang, W., Extraction and sepration of Cd and Te from cadmium telluride photovoltaic manufacturing scrap. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applictions 14 (2006), 363–371.
103. Fthenakis, V.M., End-of-life management and recycling of PV modules. Energy Policy 28 (2000), 1051–1058.
104. Jensen, N.L., Mineral facts and problems: Tellurium. 1985, US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Reston.
105. D. Edelstein, Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Uses of Selenium and Tellurium, Banff, Canada, 1989.
106. Green, M.A., Improved estimates for Te and Se availability from Cu anode slimes and recent price trends. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications 14 (2006), 743–751.
107. K. Ryder, The race for rare earths, in: CNNMoney, CNN, New York, October 5, 2010.