Techno-Economic Assessment of Half-Cell Modules for Desert Climates: An Overview on Power, Performance, Durability and Costs

Photovoltaic modules in desert areas benefit from high irradiation levels but suffer from harsh environmental stress factors, which influence the Levelized Cost of Electricity by decreasing the lifetime and performance and increasing the maintenance costs. Using optimized half-cell module designs mounted in the most efficient orientation according to the plant requirements can lead to reduced production costs, increased energy yield and longer service lives for PV modules in desert areas. In this work, we review the technical advantages of half-cell modules in desert regions and discuss the potential gains in levelized costs of electricity due to reduced material consumption, a higher cell-to-module power ratio, lower module temperatures, better yields, reduced cleaning cycles and finally, reduced fatigue in interconnection due to thermal cycling. We show that half-cell modules are the most cost-effective option for desert areas and are expected to have a relevant lower Levelized Cost of Electricity.