Researchers from Spain found that semi-transparent PV systems are commercially viable only up to about 50% transparency, as higher transparency sharply reduces efficiency and increases system costs. Their analysis shows that declining power density, and not balance-of-system or financing factors, is the main driver of higher LCOE, even in high-irradiation regions.
Image: Hanergy
A group of scientists from the University of Jaén in Spain has conducted technical and economic analysis to assess the cost-competitiveness of semi-transparent photovoltaic (STPV) technologies and has found that commercial feasibility is possible if the level of transparency does not exceed 50%.
“Unlike most previous studies, the analysis deliberately decouples STPV economics from agriculture or building revenues,” the research’s main author, Joao Gabriel Bessa, told pv magazine. “This isolates the intrinsic cost-performance of the PV system itself, making results transferable across agrivoltaics, BIPV, and emerging hybrid applications.”
“The paper introduces a cost framework that explicitly links transparency to module cost, structural cost, and system Capex, using reference values from real utility-scale PV projects in Spain rather than idealized assumptions,” he went on to say. “The results explain why many STPV concepts look attractive on paper but struggle commercially, and where targeted policy instruments can realistically help without creating false expectations.”
In the study “Assessment of cost-competitiveness of semi-transparent photovoltaic systems,” published in Renewable Energy, the researchers explained that STPV module costs are closely linked to transparency levels, as power output per unit area decreases with increasing transparency. This occurs because the reduced cell area lowers energy generation without a corresponding reduction in non-cell material costs.
They also emphasized that balance-of-system (BOS) costs increase in STPV systems as transparency rises, since the costs of mounting structures and DC cabling scale with the physical area of the PV generator. In contrast, the costs of inverters, AC cabling, transformers, and other electrical components are largely independent of transparency levels.
The techno-economic analysis was based on a business case representing a 1 MW ground-mounted STPV system operating in Spain. To assess the influence of key financial and technical parameters on the system’s levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), the researchers conducted a sensitivity analysis.
Both assessments confirmed that system costs rise sharply with increasing transparency. For instance, an opaque system with 0% transparency would have an installation cost of €0.628 ($735)/W. With higher transparency levels, however, module efficiency begins to drop and larger PV areas are needed to a capacity of 1 MW.
At 50% transparency, efficiency was found to drop to 10%, doubling the required area and increasing the total system cost to €0.904/W. At 90% transparency, efficiency falls further to just 2%, necessitating a fivefold increase in area and raising the system cost to €3.110/W—nearly five times higher than that of the opaque system.
“The study shows that semi-transparent PV systems remain cost-competitive only up to moderate transparency levels. Beyond roughly 45–50% transparency, the LCOE rises sharply and exceeds typical market electricity prices, even in high-irradiation regions such as southern Spain,” Bessa stressed. “As transparency increases, power density declines faster than module costs, because non-cell components such as glass, encapsulation, framing, and logistics dominate the cost structure. This leads to a strong increase in €/W module costs, even when less silicon is used.”
“Sensitivity analysis confirms that annual specific yield, expressed in kWh/kW, is the single most influential parameter affecting LCOE, outweighing capital expenditure and financing effects,” Bessa concluded. “In practical terms, optimizing layout, orientation, and irradiance capture matters more than marginal cost reductions. High-irradiation locations delay the point at which STPV becomes uncompetitive, but they do not eliminate it. Transparency remains the dominant driver across all scenarios. Policy can help, but it does not override the underlying physics.”
 
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