A comparative life cycle assessment of silicon PV modules: Impact of module design, manufacturing location and inventory

Müller, Amelie; Friedrich, Lorenz; Reichel, Christian; Herceg, Sina; Mittag, M.; Neuhaus, D.H.

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2021.111277

Cited by 112 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…This indicates that the foam-based FPV plant will offset 36 times the amount of CO 2 it generates during its lifetime. For comparison, the values of greenhouse gas emissions in the recent literature for rigid crystalline silicon modules were comprised between 12 kg CO 2 eq per MW h and 88 kg CO 2 eq per MW h. 20,21,23,25,47,107–109 It is important to point out that in the study where the lower value of 12 kg CO 2 eq was obtained, the authors did not perform a detailed life cycle assessment and the system boundary was not clearly specified. 20 Also, a study by Kim et al has estimated the CO 2 payback time between 1.53 and 2.53 years which remains high compared to the result obtained in this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The greenest solar power? Life cycle assessment of foam-based flexible floatovoltaics

Hayibo

Mayville

Pearce

2022

Sustainable Energy Fuels

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is observed in the PV field, where for example, frameless PV modules outperform framed modules in LCA studies. 25,47 The only study found in the literature that investigated the LCA of a conventional pontoon-based FPV has shown a high return on financial investment as compared to other PV systems. 46…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The greenest solar power? Life cycle assessment of foam-based flexible floatovoltaics

Hayibo

Mayville

Pearce

2022

Sustainable Energy Fuels

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“…The carbon balance of the PVSCS is calculated according to Equation ( 14) and the greenhouse gas and the energy payback according to Equations ( 15) and ( 16). The emissions factor for the Spanish electricity production is 0.19 tCO 2 /MWh [51], and the emissions for a Chinese-made PV module of 811 kg CO 2 − eq/kW p [52] and 519 kg CO 2 − eq/kW p for the balance-of-system (BoS) [53]. The results are shown in Table 5 and show the good footprint of all the configurations.…”

Section: Life Cycle Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Benefits of Photovoltaic Non-Optimal Orientations in Buildings

et al. 2021

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As solar photovoltaics in buildings reaches maturity, grid integration and economic yield are topics of greater interest. The traditional design of photovoltaic installations has considered the optimal orientation of photovoltaic modules to be that which yields the maximum annual energy production. The influence of the consumption patterns and the hourly variable electricity prices implies that this traditional optimal design might not be the most profitable. Using a full-year dataset for a residential installation, alternative installations using canopies and modules attached to the façades are simulated. By evaluating the energy balances for different annual consumptions, it is found that the canopy and façade installations offer better self-consumption of the PV produced energy, reflected in a 9% higher self-consumption degree using modules on façades and a 5% higher self-consumption degree using canopies. The economic evaluation under the new electricity tariffs in Spain shows a better profit for PV self-consumption, reducing the time of return on investment by more than 2 years. The analysis of different alternatives for an industrial PV allowed us to identify several benefits for these orientations which are confirmed after a full year of operation, such as an increase of up to 59% in annual energy production over the optimal-producing orientation.

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“…There are numerous studies on PV LCAs in the literature [41][42][43][44][45]. Bracquene et al [41] discussed how the eco-design of PV can contribute to reducing the environmental impact of photovoltaic panels.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bracquene et al [41] discussed how the eco-design of PV can contribute to reducing the environmental impact of photovoltaic panels. Müller et al [42] conducted an LCA analysis of photovoltaic (PV) systems from sc-Si glass-backsheet and glass-glass modules produced in China, Germany, and the European Union (EU), considering current inventory data. Celik et al [43] analysed two different structures of perovskite photovoltaic cells using the LCA with cradle-to-grave approach.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The “My Electricity” Program as One of the Ways to Reduce CO2 Emissions in Poland

et al. 2021

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One way to reduce CO2 emissions is to replace conventional energy sources with renewable ones. In order to encourage prosumers to invest in renewable energy, EU Member States are developing renewable energy subsidy programs. In Poland, in the years 2019–2020, the “My Electricity” program was implemented, co-financing was up to 50% of eligible costs (max PLN 5000, i.e., EUR 1111), and the total cost of the program was 251 million euro. During this period, around 400,000 prosumer installations were created in Poland, including over 220,000 prosumer PV Installations under the My Electricity program. The total power of the installation under the “My Electricity” program was 1.295 GWp with an average installation power of 5.72 kWp. It is estimated that the micro-installations will produce approx. 1.4 TWh of electricity annually. Depending on the replaced source of electricity (coal, gas, mix), in the next 30 years, it will help to avoid 26.2–42.7 million Mg of greenhouse gases calculated as carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq). The coefficient of subsidy expenditure from the “My Electricity” program was 194 EUR/kWp, and in the next 30 years, it will be 6.52 EUR/MWh. The investment in PV will save EUR 1550 million, which would have to be incurred for the purchase of CO2 emission permits.

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A comparative life cycle assessment of silicon PV modules: Impact of module design, manufacturing location and inventory

Cited by 112 publications

References 35 publications

The greenest solar power? Life cycle assessment of foam-based flexible floatovoltaics

The greenest solar power? Life cycle assessment of foam-based flexible floatovoltaics

Exploring the Benefits of Photovoltaic Non-Optimal Orientations in Buildings

The “My Electricity” Program as One of the Ways to Reduce CO2 Emissions in Poland

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