Optimal scenarios for solar cell supply chain considering degradation in powerhouses

In recent years, the sun has been used as one of the main sources of renewable energy and supplying energy through solar cells has been quickly increased. This paper develops a two-echelon multi-period multi-product solar cell supply chain (SCSC) with three scenarios including (1) The presence of domestic supplier in a monopoly market, (2) The arrival of a foreign rival to the competitive market, and (3) The government intervention in a competitive market. Three scenarios under non-cooperative Nash game are modeled and formulated for two types of solar cells, dye-sensitized and perovskite. The obtained solutions of three scenarios from the game models are put in a mathematical model for a solar cell powerhouse. In this multi-period multi-product mathematical model, the degradation of the solar cells is considered. In the meantime, solar cell powerhouse as one of the end-users of solar energy deals with the degradation by substitution solar panels. The proposed model determines how many solar panels/modules from two kinds of it should be installed and substituted in each period and which scenario to be selected. Finally, it is represented a numerical example, sensitive analysis, and management insights for the proposed model. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.