Photovoltaic system costs using local labor and materials in developing countries

Abstract

The use of photovoltaic (PV) technology in countries that do not presently have high technology industrial capacity was investigated. The relative cost of integrating indigenous labor (and manufacturing where available) into the balance of the system industry of seven countries (Egypt, Haiti, the Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, and the Phillipines) was determined. The results were then generalized to other countries, at most levels of development. The results of the study imply several conclusions: (1) the cost of installing and maintaining comparable photovoltaic systems in developing countries is less than in the United States; (2) skills and some materials are available in the seven subject countries that may be applied to constructing and maintaining PV systems; (3) there is an interest in foreign countries in photovoltaics; and (4) conversations with foreign nationals suggest that photovoltaics must be introduced in foreign markets as an appropriate technology with high technology components rather than as a high technology system