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by ncmncm 1550 days ago
I am a little surprised that silicon is still competitive. I had the impression that cadmium telluride was much cheaper, in bulk. Or is it about reliability/lifetime?

(For home use, I worry about my neighborhood becoming a superfund site in event of a fire. I read claims that fire burning the house under CdTe panels will not release the 8g/m^2 of cadmium on them, but don't know how to evaluate that.)
1 comments
banks_h 1550 days ago
Yes, silicon is still the majority[1], and it really just boils down to all-in cost. In watts per dollar thin-film ends up being reasonably competitive with silicon, but only because it's manufactured in the US which has steep import tariffs on foreign PV modules.

[1]https://www.usa-cdte.org/

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ncmncm 1550 days ago
Ah, thanks, I missed the tariff bit.
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