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Review on life cycle assessment of energy payback and greenhouse gas emission of solar photovoltaic systems, 2013

Peng, J., Lu, L. and Yang, H.
2013
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 19, March 2013, Pages 255-274,

Peng, J., Lu, L. and Yang, H., (2013), "Review on life cycle assessment of energy payback and greenhouse gas emission of solar photovoltaic systems, 2013", Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 19, March 2013, Pages 255-274,.
Abstract:
This paper aims to examine the sustainability and environmental performance of PV-based electricity generation systems by conducting a thorough review of the life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of five common photovoltaic (PV) systems, i.e., mono-crystalline (mono-Si), multi-crystalline (multi-Si), amorphous silicon (a-Si), CdTe thin film (CdTe) and CIS thin film (CIS), and some advanced PV systems. The results show that, among the five common PV systems, the CdTe PV system presents the best environmental performance in terms of energy payback time (EPBT) and greenhouse gases (GHG) emission rate due to its low life-cycle energy requirement and relatively high conversion efficiency. Meanwhile, the mono-Si PV system demonstrates the worst because of its high energy intensity during the solar cellsĄŻ production process. The EPBT and GHG emission rate of thin film PV systems are within the range of 0.75¨C3.5 years and 10.5¨C50 g CO2-eq./kW h, respectively. In general, the EPBT of mono-Si PV systems range from 1.7 to 2.7 years with GHG emission rate from 29 to 45 g CO2-eq./kW h, which is an order of magnitude smaller than that of fossil-based electricity. This paper also reviews the EPBT and GHG emission rates of some advanced PV systems, such as high-concentration, heterojunction and dye-sensitized technologies. The EBPT of high-concentration PV system is lower, ranging from 0.7 to 2.0 years, but the CO2 emission rate of dye-sensitized PV system is higher than the ones of other PV systems at the moment. The LCA results show that PV technologies are already proved to be very sustainable and environmental-friendly in the state of the art. With the emerging of new manufacturing technologies, the environmental performance of PV technologies is expected to be further improved in the near future. In addition, considering the existing limitations in the previous LCA studies, a few suggestions are recommended.

Keywords: Photovoltaic system; Life cycle assessment; Energy payback time; GHG emission rate; Energy requirement

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Author Information and Other Publications Notes
Peng, J.
  1. Investigation on the annual thermal performance of a photovoltaic wall mounted on a multi-layer fa?ade,  
Lu, L.
  1. Investigation on the annual thermal performance of a photovoltaic wall mounted on a multi-layer fa?ade,
  2. Overall energy performance of semi-transparent single-glazed photovoltaic (PV) window for a typical office in Hong Kong
  3. Thermal behavior of a novel type see-through glazing system with integrated PV cells  
Yang, H.
  1. Analysis of microbial contamination of a ventilation system detected by measurement of microbial volatile organic compounds
  2. Impacts of the shading-type building-integrated photovoltaic claddings on electricity generation and cooling load component through shaded windows
  3. Investigation on the annual thermal performance of a photovoltaic wall mounted on a multi-layer fa?ade,
  4. Study on thermal performance of semi-transparent building-integrated photovoltaic glazings
  5. Thermal behavior of a novel type see-through glazing system with integrated PV cells  


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