Technical, Environmental, and Economical Assessment of Photovoltaics Technologies in Malaysia

Solar energy is the future of renewable energy (RE), producing clean and sustainable form of energy. With technology moving forward, a new solar technology in the thin film family called cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar photovoltaics (PV) with efficiencies up to 19% can compete with conventional silicon-based monocrystalline (mono-si) solar PV with peak efficiencies up to 23%. This paper outlines the assessments between CdTe and mono-si solar PV in the three different aspects, namely technical, environmental, and economical to determine the potential of CdTe solar PV to be widely introduced into Malaysia market. Data collections were conducted in both a qualitative and quantitative research approach. Qualitatively, primary data were collected through a series of physical and virtual interviews with a wide range of stakeholders of the industry. Quantitatively, secondary data were collected through research papers and annual reports from governmental bodies. Simulations were performed on PVsyst for both type of solar PV and data collected were analysed. Results collected reflect on the feasibility in replacing mono-si solar PV with CdTe solar PV with only 1.4% difference in energy production, 170.1% difference in energy emissions during the lifetime of the solar panels, and 10.2% difference in capital investments. Hence with data analysed, initiatives including Green Building Index (GBI) certification incentive schemes and establishing guidelines for facilitating compliance with building for solar PV is proposed in this paper.