Domestic and overseas manufacturing scenarios of silicon-based photovoltaics: Life cycle energy and environmental comparative analysis

Yue, Dajun; You, Fengqi; Darling, Seth B.

doi:10.1016/j.solener.2014.04.008

Cited by 151 publications

(119 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Ecoinvent is extensively employed to perform EROI analysis (e.g., Cherubini and Ulgiati (2010), Clarens et al (2011), Merugula et al (2012, Raugei et al (2012), Modahl et al (2013), , Bailis et al (2013), Harmsen et al (2013), Mann et al (2013), Yue et al (2014), Sandén and Arvesen (2014)). …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

More caution is needed when using life cycle assessment to determine energy return on investment (EROI)

Arvesen¹,

Hertwich²

2015

Energy Policy

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KeywordsPrimary energy; Cumulative energy demand; LCA. Highlights• LCA can be used to determine EROI, but misclassification of energy flows can occur • Supply chain losses included in LCA need to be adjusted for when determining EROI • Inconsistencies in heating value assumptions in LCA databases have misled analysts • Differential weighting of primary energy forms in LCA-EROI should be reconsidered AbstractCumulative energy demand (CED) estimates from life cycle assessments (LCAs) are increasingly used to determine energy return on investment (EROI), but the difference in indicators can lead to a misclassification of energy flows in the assessment. The core idea of EROI is to measure the relation of energy diverted from society to make energy available to society. CED, on the other hand, includes forms of energy that are not appropriated by society, such as fugitive methane emissions from oil wells as well as losses of heating value of coal during transport and storage. Such energy forms should be excluded from EROI; failure to do so leads to results that are inconsistent with the intention of EROI and potentially misleading. We demonstrate how this problem is at least partially rectifiable by adopting consistent energy accounting, but also note that among the energy flows not appropriated by society occurring in CED, not all flows can easily be removed. Further, we point to inconsistencies in heating value assumptions in a widely used database that have misled analysts. Finally, we argue that the differential weighting of primary energy forms in published CED-based EROI work is unsubstantiated and should be reconsidered.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

More caution is needed when using life cycle assessment to determine energy return on investment (EROI)

Arvesen¹,

Hertwich²

2015

Energy Policy

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“…In addition, the production of PV modules has to a large extent moved from Europe to Asia in the last decade. The influence of the country of production on the embodied emissions of PV modules has been studied by Yue, et al [187], who found that crystalline silicon PV modules produced in China had a 28-48 % higher primary energy demand compared to modules produced in Europe.…”

Section: Figure 55 Embodied Emissions Of Pv/t Modules With Generic Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Embodied greenhouse gas emissions from PV systems in Norwegian residential Zero Emission Pilot Buildings

et al. 2016

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Printed by NTNU Grafisk senter i This thesis concerns the use of solar energy in energy efficient buildings. More precisely, the topic is photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) solar energy systems, and how these can be used to provide renewable energy in zero emission buildings. PV/T modules are a hybrid between photovoltaic (PV) modules and solar thermal collectors, and therefore generate electricity and thermal energy simultaneously. The objective of the thesis was to investigate the potential of PV/T systems to minimize the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of a residential building.The building sector accounts for around one third of the global energy use and about half of the electricity use, and is therefore a key area to focus on in the effort to mitigate climate change and to create more sustainable societies in the future. The environmental impact of buildings need to be lowered by reducing the energy demand during construction and operation, but also by replacing polluting energy sources with renewable ones. The European Union has demanded of its member states that all new buildings shall be nearly zero energy buildings by 2020.Solar energy is well-suited to use in buildings, and can supply electricity, lighting, heating, and cooling. Once installed, a solar energy system supplies energy without pollution, is silent, have few or no moving parts, and can also be integrated into the building itself. In order to do investigate how PV/T systems can best be used in buildings to minimize life cycle emissions, the systems have been studied both in terms of energy performance and in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.The main research method in this thesis has been simulation of solar energy systems in buildings. Using simulations, PV/T systems have been compared to other solar energy systems with separate PV modules and solar thermal collectors. The simulation studies were performed in the simulation programs Polysun and PVsyst, and were based on commercial solar energy products available on the current market. The use of heat pumps, air-source and ground-source, in combination with solar energy systems was also studied.Two case buildings, the ZEB residential concept and the Living Lab, have been used in the simulation studies. The buildings are two of the pilot buildings of the Norwegian Research Centre for Zero Emission Buildings (the ZEB Centre). Both buildings are single family residential buildings located in Central or Southern Norway, and are designed to meet the Norwegian passive house requirements.The embodied emissions of the solar energy systems were determined using elements of life cycle assessments (LCA). A review of previous research found few studies of the environmental impact of PV/T modules, especially using industrially produced modules. The embodied emissions of such a PV/T module was therefore determined in this thesis, based on a combination of data from databases and information from module producers. The embodied emissions of the case buildings and the other solar energy systems studied were d...

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“…The present research succeeded in demonstration of a principal possibility of decreasing the PV cell temperature with commercial TIMs enhanced with a small loading fraction of LPE graphene. Our proposed method can complement the existing technologies for passive thermal management of solar cells [63,64], particularly for the countries with a high average temperature, and contribute to the development of more sustainable approaches of energy supply [65].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal Management of Concentrated Multi-Junction Solar Cells with Graphene-Enhanced Thermal Interface Materials

2017

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Abstract:We report results of experimental investigation of temperature rise in concentrated multi-junction photovoltaic solar cells with graphene-enhanced thermal interface materials. Graphene and few-layer graphene fillers, produced by a scalable environmentally-friendly liquid-phase exfoliation technique, were incorporated into conventional thermal interface materials. Graphene-enhanced thermal interface materials have been applied between a solar cell and heat sink to improve heat dissipation. The performance of the multi-junction solar cells has been tested using an industry-standard solar simulator under a light concentration of up to 2000 suns. It was found that the application of graphene-enhanced thermal interface materials allows one to reduce the solar cell temperature and increase the open-circuit voltage. We demonstrated that the use of graphene helps in recovering a significant amount of the power loss due to solar cell overheating. The obtained results are important for the development of new technologies for thermal management of concentrated photovoltaic solar cells.

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Domestic and overseas manufacturing scenarios of silicon-based photovoltaics: Life cycle energy and environmental comparative analysis

Cited by 151 publications

References 22 publications

More caution is needed when using life cycle assessment to determine energy return on investment (EROI)

More caution is needed when using life cycle assessment to determine energy return on investment (EROI)

Embodied greenhouse gas emissions from PV systems in Norwegian residential Zero Emission Pilot Buildings

Thermal Management of Concentrated Multi-Junction Solar Cells with Graphene-Enhanced Thermal Interface Materials

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