The Cost of Ownership and Minimum Sustainable Price of POLO BJ Cells Produced in Germany

The p‐type back junction (BJ) solar cell featuring n + ‐type passivating poly‐Si on oxide (POLO) rear contacts has the potential of being an alternative for the passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) concept. The cost of ownership (CoO), minimum sustainable price (MSP), and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of POLO BJ cells produced in Germany and in a facility with a production capacity of 5 GWp*a −1 are analyzed here. After assuming that POLO BJ can attain a cell efficiency of 24.2%, an investment of 256.8 million USD and variable and operating annual costs of 317.3 million USD are estimated. The CoO per Wp of cells with efficiency of 24.2% is estimated at 5.79 ¢*Wp −1 , whereas the MSP would be 7.16 ¢*Wp −1 , compared to PERC cells, for which an efficiency of 23.1% is assumed, resulting in a CoO and MSP of 6.31 and 7.75 ¢*Wp −1 . The benefits of the higher efficiency of POLO BJ also propagate downstream to LCOE, as cells of this concept with the mentioned efficiency allow a LCOE under Southern European conditions integrated in monofacial glass–backsheet and bifacial glass–glass modules of 3.32 and 3.02 ¢*kWh −1 , respectively. This is 0.14 ¢*kWh −1 less than that of PERC cells. Other cost‐reduction pathways were explored.