Global Landscape of Photovoltaic Module Manufacturing: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Photovoltaic modules are a popular source of renewable energy, the expansion of the PV module manufacturing industry can present unique opportunities such as increased accessibility, reduced load on national grids and creation of employment opportunities while reducing the negative environmental effects associated with traditional fossil fuels. Though there have been several studies about photovoltaic module performance and efficiencies, there seems to be few studies covering the manufacturing of PV modules and the practical implementation procedures for specific regions and countries suited for the different economies. After collecting 60 papers from different databases a quantitative systematic literature review on the global landscape of PV module manufacturing was carried out to examine the trends in current research. The distribution of current research methods, databases, coverage, year of publication and geographic location of article publication are analyzed and discussed. This paper highlights some of the research gaps that present future research opportunities on the subject matter.