ECONOMICAL ASSESSMENT OF SOLAR ELECTRICITY FROM ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS

C. Emmott1, B. Azzopardi2, N. Espinosa3, R. Garcia-Valverde4, A. Urbina1,2, J. Mutale2, F.C. Krebs5 and J. Nelson1
Department of Physics and Grantham Institute for Climate Change, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom, 2 Electrical Energy and Power Systems Group, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Manchester, Ferranti Building, Sackville Street, Manchester, M60 1QD, United Kingdom, 3 Department of Electronics, Technical University of Cartagena, Pza. Hospital 1, 30202 Cartagena, Spain, 4 Department of Physics, University of Murcia, Campus Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain, 5 Ris National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000, Denmark
1

Keywords: Renewable energy, Photovoltaic technology, organic solar cells, life cycle analysis, cost analysis.

Abstract
Small size polymeric solar cells at laboratory scale have recently reached efficiencies up to 8.3% [1]. The rapid progress in manufacturing methods which allow a continuous roll-to-roll production indicate that this high efficiency could be within reach for larger modules [2]. Life cycle analysis has evaluated the environmental impact of this emerging technology and allows us to compare the carbon emissions mitigation potential of the polymeric solar technology with other photovoltaic technologies, other renewable energy sources, or fossil fuels [3]. In this work, a detailed economic calculation on the cost of electricity production by a 1kWp grid-connected organic photovoltaic system has been performed. Building on the detailed material inventory and the module manufacturing process for the production of organic photovoltaic modules [2], the economical cost of a 1kWp organic photovoltaic system has been calculated taking into account the materials, direct process, labour, balance of system components, design and maintenance costs and using a well established methodology for the economical analysis [4,5]. Assuming values for the performance ratio of the PV system, insolation level, inflation and interest rates, the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) from an organic photovoltaic system is calculated. The interest of organic photovoltaic technologies is mainly the promise of very low-cost for module components and therefore cheap solar electricity. Our calculation demonstrates that this statement is within reach for an already tested manufacturing process which allows the fabrication of organic photovoltaic modules.

The cost of solar electricity is calculated to be 0.26 euro/kWh for 3% efficiency modules of 5 years lifetime, assuming a performance ratio of 0.85 and an insolation of 1700kWh/m2 per year. This reduces to 0.11 euro/kWh if cells with the module reach the current record efficiency of 8.3% and the module lifetime is extended to 10 years. A sensitivity analysis has been performed and it shows the importance of improving the lifetime of the organic PV modules to around 10 years. The cost of electricity from an organic photovoltaic system could be more favourable than that obtained for an equivalent inorganic (silicon-based) system and could attain grid parity in the coming years.

Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the support of the UK EPSRC (Pathways to Impact Grant EP/I50105), the Royal Society, the Danish Strategic Research Council (2104-07-0022), EUDP (j. nr. 64009-0050), MICINN-Spain (HOPE CSD2007-00007; MAT2010-21267-C02) and CARM-Murcia (D429-2008). Partial financial support was also received from the European Commission through the HIFLEX project (FP7/2009, Grant No. 248678), from the EU-Indian framework of the "Largecells" project (FP7/2007-2013, Grant No. 261936) and from PV-ERA-NET (POLYSTAR).

References
[1] Konarka Tecnologies Inc., NREL certified, press release 29th November 2010. [2] F.C. Krebs, S.Georgyan, J. Alstrup, Journal of Materials Chemistry 19, 54425451 (2009). [3] N. Espinosa, R. Garca-Valverde, A.Urbina, F. C. Krebs, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2010), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2010.08.020 [4] B. Azzopardi, J. Mutale, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 14, 11301134 (2010).

[5] B. Azzopardi, J. Mutlae, D. Kirschen, IEEE International Conference on Sustainable Energy Technologies, ICSET 2008, 589-594 (2008)