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The Energy and Environmental Performance of Ground-Mounted Photovoltaic Systems—A Timely Update

Author

Listed:
  • Enrica Leccisi

    (Department of Science and Technology, Parthenope University of Naples, Centro Direzionale-Isola C4, Naples 80143, Italy
    Center for Life Cycle Analysis, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA)

  • Marco Raugei

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Wheatley OX33 1HK, UK
    Center for Life Cycle Analysis, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA)

  • Vasilis Fthenakis

    (Center for Life Cycle Analysis, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
    Photovoltaic Environmental Research Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA)

Abstract

Given photovoltaics’ (PVs) constant improvements in terms of material usage and energy efficiency, this paper provides a timely update on their life-cycle energy and environmental performance. Single-crystalline Si (sc-Si), multi-crystalline Si (mc-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) systems are analysed, considering the actual country of production and adapting the input electricity mix accordingly. Energy pay-back time ( EPBT ) results for fixed-tilt ground mounted installations range from 0.5 years for CdTe PV at high-irradiation (2300 kWh/(m 2 ·yr)) to 2.8 years for sc-Si PV at low-irradiation (1000 kWh/(m 2 ·yr)), with corresponding quality-adjusted energy return on investment ( EROI PE -eq ) values ranging from over 60 to ~10. Global warming potential (GWP) per kWh el averages out at ~30 g(CO 2 -eq), with lower values (down to ~10 g) for CdTe PV at high irradiation, and up to ~80 g for Chinese sc-Si PV at low irradiation. In general, results point to CdTe PV as the best performing technology from an environmental life-cycle perspective, also showing a remarkable improvement for current production modules in comparison with previous generations. Finally, we determined that one-axis tracking installations can improve the environmental profile of PV systems by approximately 10% for most impact metrics.

Suggested Citation

  • Enrica Leccisi & Marco Raugei & Vasilis Fthenakis, 2016. "The Energy and Environmental Performance of Ground-Mounted Photovoltaic Systems—A Timely Update," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-13, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:9:y:2016:i:8:p:622-:d:75558
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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