Electrical contact to the front side of a photovoltaic cell is provided by an array of conductive through-substrate vias, and optionally, an array of conductive blocks located on the front side of the photovoltaic cell. A dielectric liner provides electrical isolation of each conductive through-substrate via from the semiconductor material of the photovoltaic cell. A dielectric layer on the backside of the photovoltaic cell is patterned to cover a contiguous region including all of the conductive through-substrate vias, while exposing a portion of the backside of the photovoltaic cell. A conductive material layer is deposited on the back surface of the photovoltaic cell, and is patterned to form a first conductive wiring structure that electrically connects the conductive through-substrate vias and a second conductive wiring structure that provides electrical connection to the backside of the photovoltaic cell.