The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), an intergovernmental organisation headquartered in Abu Dhabi, has released its '2026 Solar PV Supply Chain Cost Tool' and accompanying methodology report. The spreadsheet-based framework estimates crystalline silicon PV module production costs in USD per watt peak through 2030 across the US, Germany, China, India, Viet Nam and Australia. It covers the value chain from polysilicon to wafer, cell and final module assembly for monocrystalline PERC and TOPCon technologies. The tool generates three outputs: module production cost at ex-works (EXW), landed cost on a delivered duty-paid (DDP) basis and ESG-compliant landed cost incorporating a fixed certification cost per watt. The cost structure applies overheads at 10% of revenues, maintenance at 4% of CAPEX and operating profit at 15% of final cost. The modelling assumes average facility scale increases from 4 GW to 6 GW by 2030 and combines location-agnostic parameters with country-specific inputs for electricity, labour, buildings, equipment and trade costs.

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