Energy viability of photovoltaic systems

Alsema, E.A.; Nieuwlaar, Evert

doi:10.1016/s0301-4215(00)00087-2

Cited by 186 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

108

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The cumulative energy demand of a product is therefore the addition of the aforementioned forms of primary energy as adopted in many LCA studies. [58][59][60][61][62] Accordingly, all the inputs in cumulative energy demand were summed up to derive the consumption of a material based on natural resources including fossil, solar, nuclear, geothermal, wind, primary forest, water and biomass. 57 The current work adopts an integrated hybrid LCA approach which overcomes boundary limitations of a process approach, by combining the process LCA inventories and Environmental Input-Output (EIO) data, 29,31,35 to evaluate the environmental profile of a laboratory-based PZT versus KNN piezoelectric materials.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Integrated hybrid life cycle assessment and supply chain environmental profile evaluations of lead-based (lead zirconate titanate) versus lead-free (potassium sodium niobate) piezoelectric ceramics

Ibn‐Mohammed

Koh

Reaney

et al. 2016

Energy Environ. Sci.

120

150

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The increasing awareness of the environmental and health threats of lead as well as environmental legislation, both in the EU and around the world targeted at decreasing the use of hazardous substances in electrical appliances and products has reinvigorated the race to develop lead-free alternatives to lead zirconate titanate (PZT), which presently dominates the market for piezoelectric materials. Emphasis has been placed on one of the most likely piezoelectric materials, potassium sodium niobate (KNN), as a lead-free replacement for PZT. KNN has been speculated to have better environmental credentials and is considered as a "greener" replacement to PZT. However, a comparative environmental impact assessment of the life cycle phases of KNN versus PZT piezoelectric materials has not been carried out. Such a life cycle assessment is crucial before any valid claims of "greenness" or environmental viability of one material over the other can be made and is the focus of this paper. Against this backdrop, a methodologically robust life cycle supply chain assessment based on integrated hybrid life cycle framework is undertaken within the context of the two piezoelectric materials. Results show that the presence of niobium in KNN constitutes far greater impact across all the 16 categories considered in comparison with PZT. The increased environmental impact of KNN occurs in the early stages of the LCA due to raw material extraction and processing. As a result, the environmental damage has already occurred before its use in piezoelectric applications during which it doesn't constitute any threat. As such, the use of the term "environmentally friendly" for the description of KNN should be avoided. Cost-benefit analysis of substituting PZT with KNN also indicates that the initial cost of conversion to KNN is greater, especially for energy usage during production. This environmental assessment has allowed us to define and address environmental health and safety as well as sustainability issues that are essential for future development of these materials. Overall, this work demonstrates insightful findings that can be garnered through the application of life cycle assessment and supply chain management to a strategic engineering question which allows industries and policy makers to make informed decisions regarding the environmental consequences of substitute materials, designs, fabrication processes and usage. IntroductionIn recent times, there has been a drive to develop new piezoelectric materials for a wide range of applications with properties comparable with lead zirconate titanate (Pb (Zr, Ti) O 3 , PZT). One main driver has been the growing awareness of the environmental impact and health concerns due to the toxicity of lead [1][2][3][4][5][6] which has led to existing environmental legislations and restrictions both in the EU and across the globe under the auspices of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directives which concern the reduction of the...

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated hybrid life cycle assessment and supply chain environmental profile evaluations of lead-based (lead zirconate titanate) versus lead-free (potassium sodium niobate) piezoelectric ceramics

Ibn‐Mohammed

Koh

Reaney

et al. 2016

Energy Environ. Sci.

120

150

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The international carbon price has average value of 14.5 $/tCO2 [11]. This factor represents monetary value of one carbon credit for 1 ton of CO2 emissions mitigation.…”

Section: Enviroeconomic Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The embodied energy for thin film amorphous silicon photovoltaic technology including other system components is 944.44 kWh/ m2 [11].…”

Section: Page 3 Ofmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Cost Assessment and Enviroeconomic Analysis of Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Photovoltaic System

Lamba¹,

Gaur²,

Gn³

2017

J Fundam Renewable Energy Appl

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper, an analysis has been carried out to evaluate the life cycle cost and environmental cost of thin film amorphous silicon photovoltaic system. The annual energy from 1000 WP photovoltaic system has been calculated for composite climatic conditions of New Delhi. The cost of electricity generation per unit from thin film amorphous silicon with and without carbon credit has been determined as 0.17 and 0.20 US$/kWh respectively. The energy payback period for the system has been calculated approximately 12 years. The cost per kWh for thin film amorphous silicon is more economical in comparison with crystalline silicon photovoltaic system.

show abstract

“…References [8,9]). Also a detailed comparison of energy payback times and emissions for different photovoltaic technologies has been carried out where most attention has been devoted to monocrystalline (mono-Si) and multicrystalline (multi-Si) silicon modules since they are the most often used PV technologies with a 93% share of the market in 2006 [9][10][11]. Also thin film technologies of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium diselenide (CIS) modules have been assessed [12,13].…”

Section: Life Cycle Analysis Of Photovoltaic Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle analysis of organic photovoltaic technologies

García‐Valverde

Cherni

Urbina

2010

Progress in Photovoltaics

162

130

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Organic solar cells, both in the hybrid dye sensitized technology and in the full organic polymeric technology, are a promising alternative that could supply solar electricity at a cost much lower than other more conventional inorganic photovoltaic technologies. This paper presents a life cycle analysis of the laboratory production of a typical bulk heterojunction organic solar cell and compares this result with those obtained for the industrial production of other photovoltaic technologies. Also a detailed material inventory from raw materials to final photovoltaic module is presented, allowing us to identify potential bottlenecks in a future supply chain for a large industrial output. Even at this initial stage of laboratory production, the energy payback time and CO 2 emission factor for the organic photovoltaic technology is of the same order of other inorganic photovoltaic technologies, demonstrating that there is plenty of room for improvement if the fabrication procedure is optimized and scaled up to an industrial process.

show abstract

Energy viability of photovoltaic systems

Cited by 186 publications

References 9 publications

Integrated hybrid life cycle assessment and supply chain environmental profile evaluations of lead-based (lead zirconate titanate) versus lead-free (potassium sodium niobate) piezoelectric ceramics

Integrated hybrid life cycle assessment and supply chain environmental profile evaluations of lead-based (lead zirconate titanate) versus lead-free (potassium sodium niobate) piezoelectric ceramics

Life Cycle Cost Assessment and Enviroeconomic Analysis of Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Photovoltaic System

Life cycle analysis of organic photovoltaic technologies

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About