IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v138y2017icp1099-1111.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental impacts of PV technology throughout the life cycle: Importance of the end-of-life management for Si-panels and CdTe-panels

Author

Listed:
  • Vellini, Michela
  • Gambini, Marco
  • Prattella, Valentina

Abstract

This study quantitatively assesses the life-cycle environmental impacts of 1 mˆ2 of Si and CdTe Photovoltaic module. GaBi LCA software is applied to establish the LCA model and to perform the calculation, and CML 2001 baseline method is chosen to quantify the environmental impacts. The comparative analysis shows that CdTe technology requires less energy and material resources than Si technology resulting in a reduction of all impacts related to polluting emissions and to material resources consumption. Instead, the human, aquatic and terrestrial toxicity environmental impacts are particularly high for the CdTe panels because they are made of toxic materials. The study highlights the importance of the recycling process at the end of life which involves the recovering of raw materials, a decrease of energy demand and a reduction of emissions of materials that would be harmful to the environment if discharged in landfills. The analysis finally shows the sustainability of these photovoltaic systems through the evaluation of EPBT indicator. The energy pay-back time was calculated carrying out a parametric analysis, varying the main variables, and providing a framework as detailed as possible of the results obtained.

Suggested Citation

  • Vellini, Michela & Gambini, Marco & Prattella, Valentina, 2017. "Environmental impacts of PV technology throughout the life cycle: Importance of the end-of-life management for Si-panels and CdTe-panels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 1099-1111.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:138:y:2017:i:c:p:1099-1111
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2017.07.031
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544217312069
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2017.07.031?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alsema, Erik, 1998. "Energy requirements of thin-film solar cell modules--a review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 2(4), pages 387-415, December.
    2. Fthenakis, Vasilis M., 2004. "Life cycle impact analysis of cadmium in CdTe PV production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 303-334, August.
    3. Klugmann-Radziemska, Ewa & Ostrowski, Piotr, 2010. "Chemical treatment of crystalline silicon solar cells as a method of recovering pure silicon from photovoltaic modules," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 1751-1759.
    4. Stoppato, A., 2008. "Life cycle assessment of photovoltaic electricity generation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 224-232.
    5. Raugei, Marco & Bargigli, Silvia & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2007. "Life cycle assessment and energy pay-back time of advanced photovoltaic modules: CdTe and CIS compared to poly-Si," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1310-1318.
    6. Peng, Jinqing & Lu, Lin & Yang, Hongxing, 2013. "Review on life cycle assessment of energy payback and greenhouse gas emission of solar photovoltaic systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 255-274.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ludin, Norasikin Ahmad & Mustafa, Nur Ifthitah & Hanafiah, Marlia M. & Ibrahim, Mohd Adib & Asri Mat Teridi, Mohd & Sepeai, Suhaila & Zaharim, Azami & Sopian, Kamaruzzaman, 2018. "Prospects of life cycle assessment of renewable energy from solar photovoltaic technologies: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 11-28.
    2. Aman, M.M. & Solangi, K.H. & Hossain, M.S. & Badarudin, A. & Jasmon, G.B. & Mokhlis, H. & Bakar, A.H.A. & Kazi, S.N, 2015. "A review of Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE) issues of solar energy system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1190-1204.
    3. Carnevale, E. & Lombardi, L. & Zanchi, L., 2014. "Life Cycle Assessment of solar energy systems: Comparison of photovoltaic and water thermal heater at domestic scale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 434-446.
    4. Tripathy, M. & Sadhu, P.K. & Panda, S.K., 2016. "A critical review on building integrated photovoltaic products and their applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 451-465.
    5. Riccardo Basosi & Roberto Bonciani & Dario Frosali & Giampaolo Manfrida & Maria Laura Parisi & Franco Sansone, 2020. "Life Cycle Analysis of a Geothermal Power Plant: Comparison of the Environmental Performance with Other Renewable Energy Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-29, April.
    6. Laleman, Ruben & Albrecht, Johan & Dewulf, Jo, 2011. "Life Cycle Analysis to estimate the environmental impact of residential photovoltaic systems in regions with a low solar irradiation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 267-281, January.
    7. Ravikumar, Dwarakanath & Wender, Ben & Seager, Thomas P. & Fraser, Matthew P. & Tao, Meng, 2017. "A climate rationale for research and development on photovoltaics manufacture," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 245-256.
    8. Peng, Jinqing & Lu, Lin & Yang, Hongxing, 2013. "Review on life cycle assessment of energy payback and greenhouse gas emission of solar photovoltaic systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 255-274.
    9. Gabriel Constantino de Lima & Andre Luiz Lopes Toledo & Leonidas Bourikas, 2021. "The Role of National Energy Policies and Life Cycle Emissions of PV Systems in Reducing Global Net Emissions of Greenhouse Gases," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-19, February.
    10. Gabriel Constantino & Marcos Freitas & Neilton Fidelis & Marcio Giannini Pereira, 2018. "Adoption of Photovoltaic Systems Along a Sure Path: A Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) Study Applied to the Analysis of GHG Emission Impacts," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-28, October.
    11. Bany Mousa, Osama & Kara, Sami & Taylor, Robert A., 2019. "Comparative energy and greenhouse gas assessment of industrial rooftop-integrated PV and solar thermal collectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C), pages 113-123.
    12. Wong, J.H. & Royapoor, M. & Chan, C.W., 2016. "Review of life cycle analyses and embodied energy requirements of single-crystalline and multi-crystalline silicon photovoltaic systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 608-618.
    13. Marwede, Max & Berger, Wolfgang & Schlummer, Martin & Mäurer, Andreas & Reller, Armin, 2013. "Recycling paths for thin-film chalcogenide photovoltaic waste – Current feasible processes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 220-229.
    14. Kaldellis, J.K. & Zafirakis, D. & Kondili, E., 2009. "Optimum autonomous stand-alone photovoltaic system design on the basis of energy pay-back analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(9), pages 1187-1198.
    15. Colombo, Emanuela & Rocco, Matteo V. & Toro, Claudia & Sciubba, Enrico, 2015. "An exergy-based approach to the joint economic and environmental impact assessment of possible photovoltaic scenarios: A case study at a regional level in Italy," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 318(C), pages 64-74.
    16. 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.
    17. Hui Fang Yu & Md. Hasanuzzaman & Nasrudin Abd Rahim & Norridah Amin & Noriah Nor Adzman, 2022. "Global Challenges and Prospects of Photovoltaic Materials Disposal and Recycling: A Comprehensive Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-41, July.
    18. Gerbinet, Saïcha & Belboom, Sandra & Léonard, Angélique, 2014. "Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of photovoltaic panels: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 747-753.
    19. Tiantian Zhang & Meng Wang & Hongxing Yang, 2018. "A Review of the Energy Performance and Life-Cycle Assessment of Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-34, November.
    20. Wang, Lunche & Qiu, Tianzhi & Zhang, Ming & Cao, Qian & Qin, Wenmin & Wang, Shaoqiang & Wang, Lizhe & Chen, Deliang & Wild, Martin, 2024. "Carbon emissions and reduction performance of photovoltaic systems in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:138:y:2017:i:c:p:1099-1111. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.