Modeling the Solar Photovoltaic Industry

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Engineering, 2006-07

Liaison(s): Douglas Arent ’82, Robert Margolis, Paul Denholm
Advisor(s): Sarah Harris
Students(s): Jason Christiansen (S), Alice Clifton, Sarah-Mei Estrada, Thomas Heyer (TL), Maddalena Jackson (F), Lindsay A. Muth

Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, used in solar panels, is at the forefront of renewable energy industry growth. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has requested that the team design, build, and test a computer model to analyze the solar PV industry. The Clinic team’s model is based on the manufacturing value chain with a focus on silicon processing and module manufacturing. The model will be used to perform sensitivity analysis to determine bottlenecks and growth factors in the industry.