Does recycling solar panels make this renewable resource sustainable? Evidence supported by environmental, economic, and social dimensions

A rapid and deep decarbonization of power supply worldwide is required to limit global warming to well below 2?°C Beyond greenhouse gas emissions, the power sector is also responsible for numerous other environmental impacts Here we combine scenarios from integrated assessment models with a forward-looking life-cycle assessment to explore how alternative technology choices in power sector decarbonization pathways compare in terms of non-climate environmental impacts at the system level While all decarbonization pathways yield major environmental co-benefits, we find that the scale of co-benefits as well as profiles of adverse side-effects depend strongly on technology choice Mitigation scenarios focusing on wind and solar power are more effective in reducing human health impacts compared to those with low renewable energy, while inducing a more pronounced shift away from fossil and toward mineral resource depletion Conversely, non-climate ecosystem damages are highly uncertain but tend to increase, chiefly due to land requirements for bioenergy

Environmental co-benefits and adverse side-effects of alternative power sector decarbonization strategies

Multi-levels of photovoltaic waste management: A holistic framework

Life cycle assessment of organic solar cells and perovskite solar cells with graphene transparent electrodes

The transition towards renewable energy sources and “green” technologies for energy generation and storage is expected to mitigate the climate emergency in the coming years [...]

https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/22/5892/pdf

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Environmental and Energy Systems

A comparative life cycle assessment of silicon PV modules: Impact of module design, manufacturing location and inventory

PV waste management will gain relevance proportionally to the amounts of waste that are expected to arise with the phasing-out of old installations in the upcoming years and decades. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology is used here to analyze the environmental performance of photovoltaic systems and the waste management methods that have been developed recently. Several LCA studies have already been performed for PV technologies, but in most cases these do not include the end of life stage, thus there is still uncertainty about the impacts of recycling on the environmental footprint of PV electricity. The present study offers a more detailed analysis of different end-of-life approaches for the main photovoltaic technologies that are found on the market. The results from the analysis demonstrate that recycling has the potential to improve the environmental profile of PV electricity but at the same time there is room for further improvements in developing dedicated recycling technologies.

Influence of Waste Management on the Environmental Footprint of Electricity Produced by Photovoltaic Systems

The large-scale deployment of photovoltaics (PV) is a central pillar in decarbonizing energy systems and reaching climate goals. Although PV is inherently associated to environmental awareness, it is not immune to reputational risks nor exempt of a responsibility for transparency and sustainability leadership. So far, advances in the PV industry have mainly been shaped by cost-reduction targets. We identified in previous works 16 topics where the PV sector comes short in addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12) “Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”. In this paper, practical approaches to address each of these sustainability gaps are proposed. The best-practices identified cover all aspects of sustainability as defined by SDG 12–from resource use and hazardous substances through corporate reporting and risk assessment to due diligence and waste management. Insights on methodological needs to improve sustainability assessment and accounting in PV are also provided. The compiled list of actions needed, although not intended to be exhaustive, constitutes a starting point for stakeholders to raise their ambitions and achieve more sustainability in PV value chains.

/pdf/sustainability-strategies-for-pv-framework-status-and-needs-2mcme442g2.pdf

Sustainability strategies for PV: framework, status and needs

The environmental footprint of photovoltaic electricity is usually assessed using nominated power or life cycle energy output. If performance degradation is considered, a linear reduction in lifetime energy output is assumed. However, research has shown that the decrease in energy output over time does not necessarily follow a linear degradation pattern but can vary at different points in the module’s lifetime. Further, photovoltaic modules follow different degradation patterns in different climate zones. In this study, we address the influence of different degradation aspects on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of PV electricity. Firstly, we apply different non-linear degradation scenarios to evaluate the GHG emissions and show that the differences in GHG emissions in comparison to a linear degradation can be up to 6.0%. Secondly, we use the ERA5 dataset generated by the ECMWF to calculate location-dependent degradation rates and apply them to estimate the location-specific GHG emissions. Due to the reduction in lifetime energy output, there is a direct correlation between the calculated degradation rate and GHG emissions. Thirdly, we assess the impact of climate change on degradation rates and on the respective GHG emissions of photovoltaic electricity using different climate change scenarios. In a best-case scenario, the GHG emissions are estimated to increase by around 5% until the year 2100 and by around 105% by 2100 for a worst-case scenario.

/pdf/the-influence-of-different-degradation-characteristics-on-1adxcxzg.pdf

The Influence of Different Degradation Characteristics on the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Silicon Photovoltaics: A Threefold Analysis

A product made from virgin raw materials that ends up in a landfill presents a linear supply chain model. Today's photovoltaic (PV) industry is still largely based on this model. With the increasing volume of production, the raw materials required for it, and consequently the volume of waste, the application of circular economy principles in the PV sector can significantly increase its environmental efficiency. This study analyzes the impact of circularity on the supply chain of PV silicon used for PV module production. Four scenarios based on the combination of technological pathways and circularity options are created. Their evaluation is carried out by the methodologies of Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The State-of-art case of the PV polysilicon supply chain corresponds to the MCI score of 0.54. Closed-loop circularity solutions provide the MCI score of 0.80 presenting the potential for a circular economy approach in the industry. LCA results show the reduction of environmental impact by 12% with improved circularity. The study presents the benefits of potential circularity options within the supply chain as well as the impact of technological development on the polysilicon demand.

/pdf/combining-circularity-and-environmental-metrics-to-assess-2snw53k1.pdf

Combining circularity and environmental metrics to assess material flows of PV silicon

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