COST AND EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS OF

DIFFERENT SOLAR BASED DEVICES: A REVIEW

Adarsh Kumar, Gaurav Gupta
School of Mechanical Materials & Energy Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Ropar
Rupnagar 140001, Punjab, INDIA
*Corresponding author: Gaurav Gupta
Tel: 7814326401; E-mail: gauravgupta@iitrpr.ac.in

Abstract
There are many ways to harness the solar energy which is the
most clean and sustainable energy. It can be used to generate
electricity and heat at high temperature as per the requirement.
Now a days there are many devices like photovoltaics thermal
hybrid, concentrated solar technologies, solar furnace and solar
fuels. In order to meet the human requirement it is necessary to
take an account the cost and efficiency associated with the
current technology.as per the current demand of the energy
consumption, only solar energy has the potential to fulfill the
requirement as a renewable resource. From an economic and
ecological perspective the devices available can be used
accordingly. From the photovoltaic the levelised cost of
electricity generation is very close to the cost of thermal
electricity thus in future it will prove to be major technological
area. Efficiency of photovoltaic is increased by making it a
hybrid type power plant. Solar furnace can be used to obtain
heat directly in various application where direct heat sources
are required. Concentrated solar power plants and solar fuels
are currently in developing phase with only minor contribution
to the current energy supply. Solar fuels development can led
to total dependence on solar energy possible.

The International Energy Agency have estimated that the

developing countries need to double the
installed power
generation capacity in order to fulfil the growing energy
demand by year 2030 and the world energy consumption is to
be
increased
by
44%
up
to
2030.[1]
By using only 0.1% of the available land on earth earths with
solar power collectors with the collection efciency of 20%, we
could generate more electrical power than the electrical power
demand of all inhabitants of our mother Earth[9]. In recent
past due to the rapid increase in the Environmental Pollution
level and global warming issue there is huge growth observed
in the photovoltaic solar based technology market. Nowadays
due to new development of industrial hub the levelized cost of
the solar energy has fallen down and is about to meet the cost
of commercial electricity, with the current growth rate of
technology the solar electricity cost will soon be available with
a competitive price for the daily household use.[3].
Nomenclature
PV
P
Vos
Isc
FF
T
Tc
CSP

Introduction
With the rapid Industrialization and Globalization the global
energy demand has been steadily increasing since the last 40
years. In year 2008, the total global energy consumption
reached 4741018 J (474 exa-joules), out of which 8090% is
coming from combustion of fossil fuels only [1]. The steady
gradual increase in the consumption of fossil fuel has led to a
drastic climate change, with 14 of the 15 most warm years on
record occurring since 2000.[2]

=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=

Photovoltaic
Maximum Power Generated by PV cell
Open Circuit Voltage
Short Circuit Current
Fill Factor (P/(Vos x Isc))
Ambiance Temperature
Collector temperature
Concentrated Solar Power

based crystalline silicone of two types, single crystal or poly

crystal. These types of PV have the largest share in the global
market of nearly 87% up till 2010, although the silicone is one
of the most abundant element on earth but the cost of these
photovoltaics are very high. They have efficiency of about 1419%, the wafers of silicon are generally 200-300m.[3][4][9]

Photovoltaics
Photovoltaics fundamentally are solid semiconductor devices
which covert the solar Irradiation directly to electrical energy,
they are made up of either mono crystalline, poly crystalline,
ribbon crystalline or amorphous (micro crystalline) silicon,
gallium, copper-indium-selenide and cadmium telluride
materials.
Phovoltaic panels are made up of a laminate structure of series
wired multiple solar cell as individual cells have very less
voltage
output
of
0.5V.
[3]
The operation principles of solar cells is the higher energy
Photons i.e. with greater energy as compared with the bandgap energy of the semiconductor are absorbed and excite the
valance electrons towards the conduction band thus, leaving
behind holes in the valence band. The electron and hole pairs
generate an electric field in the depletion layer of the pn
junction the electric eld present in the depletion region
separates them and drives them through an external load. When
the impedance of the circuit matches the load of device
maximum
power
gets
delivered.
The solar conversion efficiency for a solar cell is given by.
[5][3]
= Vos x Isc x FF/P

Second generation Photovoltaics, they are made up by thin

film Photovoltaic technology, it consist of amorphous Silicon,
Microcrystalline Silicone, Copper-Indium-Gallium-Diselenide
, (Cu-In-GA-Se), Copper Indium-Selenide (Cu-In-Se),
Cadmium-Telluride (Cd-Te). They are the result of 20-30 years
wide extensive research, they need less material for
manufacturing and they have in principal low levelized cost of
electricity production. They are made up of successive thin
layer
of
just
order
of
1-4
m.[3][9]
Amorphous Silicone PV cells and microcrystalline silicone
have efficiency of the order of 4-8%, and the efficiency even
drops down by years, thsus the lower cost in production is being
compensated by the lower efficiency and they generate
electricity
at
a
higher
levelized
cost.[3][4]
Copper-Indium-Gallium-Diselenide and Copper IndiumSelenide have the highest efficiency among all thin film solar
cells of order of nearly 18%. Cadmium-Telluride solar cells
have efficiency of 16% and they are the most economical thin
film technology. The only drawback is they are toxic.[3][4][9]

The power and other properties for the solar panels are
generally rated for STP conditions i.e. 250C at 1atm pressure
with 1.5 AM Solar Mass and Irradiation of 1000W/sq.m From
the date of invention of Solar cells, besides that the solar energy
is being available for free and these Photovoltaics have not been
considered in past for large scale electricity generation because
of its high cost. Solar panels have of manufacturing, high cost
of equipment and installation high levelized cost of electricity.
Thus, restricting its use but from the recent few years as the
people all around the globe are becoming more concern about
the renewable energy consumption because of the
environmental degradation, the use of solar based technology is
increasing abruptly, and the photovoltaics are leading the chart
as it directly converts solar energy into electrical energy. [4][5]

Third generation Photovoltaics, they are under developing

phase and not have been commercialized yet, like Organic
Photovoltaics, Dye based Photovoltaics and Concentrating
Photovoltaics, they are very inexpensive but are very
inefficient.[4][9]
Organic photovoltaics cells are made up of organic or
polymeric material they having efficiency of only 4-6% they
are also unstable over time. Dye-sensitized solar cells are made
up of photo-electrochemical they too have 4-5% efficiency.
Concentrating PV uses optical devices to concentrate the direct
solar insolation in a small, efficient multi-junction based solar
cells made up of semiconductors like Germanium, Gallium
Arsenic, Indium Gallium Arsenic and Indium Gallium
Phosphorus. They have very high efficiency of order of 4050%, they have a drawback that the concentrated solar
irradiance use to increase the temperature of the solar cell and
they tends to reduce the efficiency of the solar cell.[9]
To rectify that effect they need a cooling system, and Solar
Thermal Hybrid energy system is an outcome to use the thermal
energy by the raised temperature of the solar cells. Cost is the
prime factor in the production of Photovoltaics, from the time
of Photovoltaic development the module use to consist of 6070% of the cost of total PV system but since 2008 there is a
random decline in the module cost and now it is available for
cheap.
[3][4]
As of now the learning decline rate of the price of Photovoltaic

The Globally installed Photo Voltaic capacity has risen from

1.8 GW in 2000 towards 177 GW in 2014, on an average it is
the fasted growing energy sector with a growth rate of 48%. The
rapid interest in the renewable solar based technology and
environmental impact along with rapid development in solar
PV technology has cause a significant rapid cost reduction.
Nowadays is a wide range of PV available in the market today,
they uses different technology and different types of material
they are classified into three generation category on the basis of
used material and commercial production technology.[4][5]
First generation Photovoltaics, they are made up of wafer

modules is around 20% which means that for the each time
photovoltaic cumulative installed capacity has doubled the
module cost have declined by 20%, one of the possible reason
for that is the entrance of Chinese companies in the PV
manufacturing market, despite the rapid growth and easy
availability the solar energy have only 1% share in the global
installed capacity.[4][5][6]

Solar Furnace
Solar furnace one of the best option to utilize the solar energy
if we have to use the solar energy in the form of heat. It
concentrated solar irradiation by heliostats and parabolic
mirrors on the focal point to produce high very high
temperatures up to an order of 30000C with concentration factor
of 5000. Solar furnace is an old technology of back 18th century,
a French person Antoine Lavoisier made a solar furnace which
can reach temperature of 17500C which was used to melt copper
and
iron
like
metals.
[10]
This huge amount of heat can be used for chemical purposes, to
melt
down
metals
for
industrial
purposes,
to
generate electricity, and to produce hydrogen fuel for fuel
cells.[11]

The rapid development in past time, has brought down the cost
of the high power solar modules INR. 810,000/kW in 1982 to
INR. 200,000/kW in 2006 the installation cost of a PV system
has also declined to INR 240,000/kW in 2008 as compared to
INR 640,000/kW in 1992. It is keeps on decreasing further now
with a decline rate of 45% since last 5yrs with each 22%
reduction
with
doubling
of
cumulative
volume
production[4][5][6]

The conversion efficiency () is function of Carnot efficiency

and receiver efficiency [11]

The levelized cost of electricity from different types of PV cells

have fallen down due to increase in its efficiency, life time of
solar panels and the decrease in the capital investment for the
Module installation, the levelized cost of Electricity is nearly
INR 6.64 7.85 for life time of 25yrs with 10% decline in
performance in first 10yrs than 25% decline in next 15 yrs. The
point to notice is that the levelized cost of currently available
amorphous PV cells are more than crystalline PV cell this is due
to the rapid reduction in the efficiency of amorphous PV cells,
for the current development scenario the levelized cost of the
PV cells will beat the cost of thermal based electricity at that
time it will be further good for utility.[5][6]
Ecological footprint of the Solar Power is comparable with the
other PV Technologies. The land required to use construct a
Hydro Power Plant is quite huge as compared with the solar
power plant, Thus it have a low Ecological footprint.[7][8]

= reciver x carnot

= (1

(T 4 )
Tc
) X (1 ( ))
IC
T

Solar Thermal Hybrid

Another and the most prominent type of Solar Technology is
Solar Thermal Hybrid Power panels, as the temperature
increases the efficiency of the solar panel decreases, the solar
thermal hybrid power collector utilized that thermal energy to
produce electricity, the cooling system of the panel with
flowing some fluid uses many technologies have to produce
sufficient energy for the Rankine Cycle Power Plant, as nanofluid.[6]
Although the cost of the Solar panel rises due to the installation
of Cooling mechanisms but the overall efficiency of the system
tends to increase by rapidly up to 65-80%. Reducing the
levelized cost of the electricity produced with not much effect
in the Ecological Footprint. There are also projects on windsolar hybrid and wind-solar-thermal hybrid technology.
[6][7][9]

Image Source[2]
Small Solar furnace can be used for heating the home, could
be used as water heater and be used as an cooking equipment,
for the concentration ratio to be nearly 1000-1500, the
Levelized cost is INR 6.4/KWh which is less than the
commercial cost of electricity in India.
With the recent development of the Optical Cavity Furnace the
thermal efficiency of the solar furnace will show a gradual
increase in next few years as it will decrease the .[12]Solar
furnace can be used to for the production of Hydrogen based
fuel for Fuel cells[13].
Ecological footprint the solar furnace is quite low as compared
with the traditional Thermal and Hydro Power Plant, it
doesnt emits C02 and other Green House Gases.[14]

Energy payback time of the solar furnaces are used to be

nearly 4-6 years for large furnaces for small furnaces it is used
to be 8-10years and the life time are 30 years.[9]
In India small scale Solar furnace are used for Solar
Cremation, which will reduce the deforestation and is more
ecofriendly as compared with the Electrical Cremation, on an
whole, it save 200-300kg of wood for each cremation . [15]

High efficiency is obtained for point concentration type CSP in

which all the solar radiation is concentrated at a single point.
However high efficiency requires higher resources for the
construction thus parabolic trough are widely used for power
generation.[21] The overall efficiency of a CSP is the total
conversion efficiency of solar collector and thermal power
station. Currently in India, most of the operational CSP plant
are of parabolic trough type since cost of production and
maintenance is considerably lower than tower type plant [22].
Essentially CSP plant are set up in remote areas where high
amount of solar irradiance is received. According to NREL data
for annual average direct solar irradiance for India, some
regions of Karnataka near the Krishna basins and parts of
Rajasthan and Gujarat near Bans River are suitable for the
construction of the concentrated solar power plant.

Concentrated Solar Power Plant

The concentrated solar power plant provides a greater
opportunity for harnessing the solar power. They work in High
temperature range since no semiconductor device is used
harness solar energy. Solar radiation is concentrated at a single
point by the use of multiple mirrors or curved mirrors [17]. The
high temperature heat generated is harnessed by using a carrier
fluid which has heat capacity and stability. Occasionally the
carrier fluid is water itself and thus steam is generated directly
in the solar concentrator. The steam is used to run the turbine.
However due to high working temperature, a separate fluid is
used to generate the steam for rankine cycle. The CSP plant on
a broadly consists of following hardware: 1. Glass for
concentrating solar radiation, 2. Solar collector with working
fluid, 3. Heat exchanger for generating steam, 4. Turbine for
electricity generation, and cooling system. All these component
require initial manufacturing cost and thus the
installation/setting up of a CSP plant does not necessarily an
environmental friendly process.[17] Various resources are used
to manufacture the component leading to high ecological
footprint and thus the working life time of the power plant
should be sufficient to counter the initial environmental impact.
Mostly impact is on Land resources, water resources and global
warming emissions.[18]

Mirrors required may be silver plated for higher reflectance but

are costlier but aluminum plated mirrors are widely used
because of corrosion resistance property of aluminum. Carrier
fluid is generally of mineral salt. Other than this typical rankine
cycle based power plant construction is needed. For minimizing
the ecological and environmental impact, construction of bigger
power plant is generally suggested [23]. Generally for any CSP
plant, 20-24% of cost is invested in constructing the storage
facility for the power station. Mirrors take only 12% and heat
channeling device take 15% of the total cost.[24] Rest of the
amount is invested in maintenance and construction of power
generating part of the plant[25]. Mega solar power plant located
in anantapur city of Andhra Pradesh is a parabolic trough type
CSP plant with a total investment of INR 8480 million.

Solar Fuels
The earth receives a huge amount solar energy which can
completely satisfy the energy requirement. However the
dependence on traditional fuels is not yet diminished.
Continuous consumption of fossil fuels led to an increased
concentration of carbon dioxide in atmosphere which is
responsible for many changes in climate. One of the drawback
of the solar energy is that it is not available throughout the 24
hrs. So there is a need to store the solar energy for night usage.
However current technology is only advanced to store the solar
energy in modern batteries which is not economical and
environment friendly since battery production require resources
and many batteries will be required. One of the idea is to utilize
the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis utilizes the solar
energy and carbon dioxide to produce glucose [26]. However
glucose cannot be used as fuel. Thus artificial photosynthesis is
required using a proper catalyst which can convert atmospheric
carbon dioxide into appropriate chemical compound which can
be economically process to produce fuels. The fuels thus

By changing the type of concentrator, different types of CSP

Plant configuration are possible which are 1. Trough collector,
2. Power tower system and 3. Dish systems [19]. These plant
configurations can effectively reach different operating
temperature and thus different output energy is obtained. The
largest CSP Plant is of tower system type, located in California
having a capacity of 392MW in an area of 4000 acres [20]. The
total cost of project is $2.18 billion [20]. The power plant is
expected to reduce the annual carbon dioxide emissions
however if the power plant will not operate for long time
successful recovery of the resource investment will not be
possible [20]. The efficiency of the CSP is summarized below.
Type
Efficiency

Parabolic
trough
20%

Linear
Fresnel
18%

Solar
tower
35%

Dish
30%

obtained are called solar fuels [26[. These fuel have zero carbon
content and thus stores solar energy in the form of chemical
energy effectively [27]. The catalyst required should be occur
naturally or require little investment as such the higher cost will
led to non-sustainability. There is direct conversion of the solar
energy to make solar fuels which can be used for power
generation however indirect conversion of solar energy to
intermediate compound is much easier. These intermediate
compound can be used to make solar fuels although the
efficiency of conversion is reduced [27].

2.

3.

4.

Production of hydrogen and methane is essentially a research

subject [27]. Hydrogen can be produced by the electrolysis of
water and methane can be produced from the reduction of
carbon dioxide. Both of these requires energy which can be
given by solar energy however appropriate catalysts are
required. Solar energy can also be used indirectly to produce
solar fuels. The photovoltaic cell can produce electricity to
electrolyze water and reduce carbon dioxide appropriately
however since there is a limit on conversion efficiency on solar
panel the overall efficiency of the process is reduce. The
economics of second process is quite acceptable. The electrodes
material is available however prone to corrosion thus require
periodic replacement. Solar energy in the form of heat can be
used generate solar fuel with much more efficiency. The
thermochemical reaction can take place in the collector part of
any concentrated solar power plants. Hydrogen can be produced
by boiling water at high temperature.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Conclusion
With rapid development in photovoltaic technology the
levelised cost of different solar devices has fallen down with
improvement in their efficiency. For those places where the
infrastructure for grid supply is not available small scale solar
power plant could be built in developing countries like India.
The levelised cost of solar furnace is minimum but has
limitations for thermal purpose only. The cost of concentrated
solar power plant depends on the scale of the CSP to be set up.
Least investment is required for the hardware corresponding to
the solar devices and maintenance cost is higher. The solar fuels
can be sustainable replacement for the traditional batteries and
has huge potential to fulfill the energy requirement. Although
the cost of solar thermal hybrid is more but currently it is the
most efficient technology. If somehow the levelised cost solar
thermal hybrid energy decreases, it will be a major boost in
power sector.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.
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