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An Exploration of Divergence in EPBT and EROI for Solar Photovoltaics

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  • Graham Palmer

    (The University of Melbourne)

  • Joshua Floyd

    (The Rescope Project)

Abstract

Solar photovoltaics (PV) is widely regarded as one of the most promising renewable energy technologies. Net energy analysis (NEA) is a tool to evaluate the energetic performance of all energy supply technologies, including solar PV. Results across studies can appear to diverge sharply, which leads to contestation of NEA’s relevance to energy transition feasibility assessment and contributes to ongoing uncertainty in relation to the critical issue of the sustainability of PV. This study explores how PV NEA approaches differ, including in relation to goal definitions, methodologies and boundaries of analysis. It focuses on two principal NEA metrics, energy return on investment (EROI) and energy payback time (EPBT). Here we show that most of the apparent divergence between studies is accounted for by six factors—life-cycle assessment methodology, age of the primary data, PV cell technology, the treatment of intermittency, equivalence of investment and output energy forms, and assumptions about real-world performance. The apparent divergence in findings between studies can often be traced back to different goal definitions. This study reviews the differing approaches and makes the case that NEA is important for assessing the role of PV in future energy systems, but that findings in the form of EROI or EPBT must be considered with specific reference to the details of the particular study context, and the research questions that it seeks to address. NEA findings in a particular context cannot definitively support general statements about EROI or EPBT of PV electricity in all contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Graham Palmer & Joshua Floyd, 2017. "An Exploration of Divergence in EPBT and EROI for Solar Photovoltaics," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 2(4), pages 1-20, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:bioerq:v:2:y:2017:i:4:d:10.1007_s41247-017-0033-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s41247-017-0033-0
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    Cited by:

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    5. Maaike Braat & Odysseas Tsafarakis & Ioannis Lampropoulos & Joris Besseling & Wilfried G. J. H. M. van Sark, 2021. "Cost-Effective Increase of Photovoltaic Electricity Feed-In on Congested Transmission Lines: A Case Study of The Netherlands," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-21, May.
    6. Fix, Blair, 2021. "Living the Good Life in a Non-Growth World. Investigating the Role of Hierarchy," Working Papers on Capital as Power 2021/02, Capital As Power - Toward a New Cosmology of Capitalism.
    7. Melgar-Melgar, Rigo E. & Hall, Charles A.S., 2020. "Why ecological economics needs to return to its roots: The biophysical foundation of socio-economic systems," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
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    9. Diesendorf, M. & Wiedmann, T., 2020. "Implications of Trends in Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROI) for Transitioning to Renewable Electricity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    10. Fix, Blair, 2021. "Living the good life in a non-growth world: Investigating the role of hierarchy," SocArXiv wem9p, Center for Open Science.

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    Keywords

    Solar PV; EROI; EPBT; Net energy;
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