At the technology level, crystalline silicon technologies currently account for most of the overall cell production in the IEA PVPS countries. Single crystal PV cells are manufactured using a single crystal growth method and have commercial efficiencies between 16 % and 18 %. Multicrystalline cells, usually manufactured from a melting and solidification process, are less expensive to produce but are marginally less efficient, with production efficiencies between 14 % and 15 %. PV cells made from ribbons show an average efficiency around 14 %. Thin film cells are constructed by depositing extremely thin layers of photovoltaic semi-conductor materials onto a backing material such as glass, stainless steel or plastic. Thin film materials commercially used are amorphous silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), and copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS). Commercially available thin film modules show stable efficiencies in the range of 6 % to 11 %, (figure reported in 2005) but they are potentially cheaper to manufacture than crystalline cells. They have a wider customer appeal as design elements due to their homogeneous appearance. The disadvantage of low conversion efficiencies is that larger areas of PV arrays and more material (cables, support structures) are required to produce the same amount of electricity.

Technical performance at the system level has reached annual performance ratios (PV output divided by irradiation sum) of PR= 0,80 for well-designed, non-shaded PV installations with a focus on reliable and high quality components to ensure long-term operation.

From the perspective of industry performance, in 2005 there were seven companies and ten plants producing PV grade silicon in four IEA PVPS countries, while outside the IEA PVPS countries the production of silicon was negligible (however production is now increasing, particularly in Russia and China). The total photovoltaic cell production volume for 2005 in the IEA PVPS countries was reported to be 1 500 MW, an increase of 35 % over the previous year. Japan was the leading producer of cells (824 MW) and modules (773 MW). Production of cells and modules in this country accounted for 55 % and 50 % respectively of the IEA PVPS countries' production in 2005, with Germany in second place with 23 % and 18 % of production respectively. Outside the IEA PVPS countries both China and Taiwan consolidated the significance of their contribution to global PV production with further strong growth in 2005. The PV industry landscape promises to become even more interesting, with the entry of players such as China with ambitious export plans on the table but without a policy structure in place to create a sustainable domestic PV market.