The US Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium (PVMC), an industry-led consortium based at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) has released the first ever US Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) PV Roadmap reports.
The consortium is spearheaded by SEMATECH and CNSE and the project is part of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) SunShot initiative. PVMC is attempting to achieve a reduction in the total installed cost of solar energy systems by 75 percent over the next decade. The aim of the CIGS Roadmap is to provide a plan for the national CIGS industry, including module and systems manufacturers, suppliers, and end-users, that will identify common challenges and outline the technical developments needed to achieve and advance a competitive US PV industry.
“Photovoltaics and especially thin-film PV are again at a tipping point” said Larry Kazmerski, co-chair of the U.S. CIGS PV Roadmap. “We want PV to be a substantial part of the world’s energy portfolio and our efforts with this roadmap are aimed to help make CIGS thin films a significant part of that solar success.”
The roadmap, entitled “2013 U.S. CIGS PV Roadmap Reports,” will identify the technological challenges needed to be overcome in order to attain module cost and performance targets over the next ten years. In particular it examines six focus areas including roll-to-roll, rigid glass, metrology, modules and packaging, substrates and materials, and reliability/certification/test.
“In building on the innovation strategy of Governor Andrew Cuomo that is establishing New York as a hub for solar energy technologies and companies, we engaged over 75 partner firms and 100 industry experts to develop a 10-year projection in the first-ever U.S. CIGS PV roadmap,” added Dr. Pradeep Haldar, PVMC Chief Operating and Technology Officer and CNSE Vice President for Clean Energy Programs. “This blueprint identifies the critical challenges for CIGS PV manufacturing, applications for sustainable innovation, and technical developments that will serve our members and stakeholders, and enable a competitive U.S. solar industry amid the global marketplace.”
PVMC, as primary sponsor of the effort, will provide the resources for managing and coordinating the roadmap with members of the roadmap representing all areas of the industry. Roadmap working group leaders will present summaries of reports at the Third Annual U.S. CIGS PV Roadmap Public Forum on July 11th held during Intersolar North America 2013. They will also announce plans for a revised roadmap for 2014.
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