Estimating the manufacturing cost of purely organic solar cells

In this paper we estimate the manufacturing cost of purely organic solar cells. We find a very large range since the technology is still very young. We estimate that the manufacturing cost for purely organic solar cells will range between $50 and $140/m(2). Under the assumption of 5% efficiency, this leads to a module cost of between $1.00 and $2.83/W-p. Under the assumption of a 5-year lifetime, this leads to a levelized cost of electricity (LEC) of between 49 and 85 cent/kWh. In order to achieve a more competitive COE of about 7 cent/kWh, we would need to increase efficiency to 15% and lifetime to between 15-20 years. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.