I am a little surprised that silicon is still competitive. I had the impression that cadmium telluride was much cheaper, in bulk. Or is it about reliability/lifetime?

(For home use, I worry about my neighborhood becoming a superfund site in event of a fire. I read claims that fire burning the house under CdTe panels will not release the 8g/m^2 of cadmium on them, but don't know how to evaluate that.)