Life Cycle Analysis of Linear Fresnel Solar Power Technology

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin Hang ◽  
Kevin Balkoski ◽  
Phani Meduri
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Life Cycle Analysis ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Solar Power Generation ◽  
Energy Payback ◽  
Payback Time ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Intensity ◽  
Energy Payback Time

Solar power generation technologies are categorized as Concentrated Solar Thermal Power (CSP) and PhotoVoltaic (PV). AREVA’s Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) system is a CSP power generation technology which compares favorably with other technologies in terms of its land efficiency and environmental impact. Analysis of the costs and benefits of solar technologies can inform their design and influence environmental and economic policies. This paper reports a comprehensive “cradle to grave” life cycle analysis (LCA) of AREVA’s CLFR technology. A unique element of this study is the availability of comprehensive inventory data from AREVA’s Reliance project, a 125 MWe Solar CLFR power plant under construction in India. Using actual project data showed the energy payback time was about 8.2 months and the greenhouse gas intensity was about 31 g-CO2/kWhe. Sensitivity analysis identified that the environmental performance is most sensitive to the solar intensity represented by direct normal irradiance. This study also compares AREVA’s CLFR technology with other leading solar power generation technologies. AREVA’s CLFR has the similar energy payback time and greenhouse gas intensity as other CSP technologies, and it has lower environmental impact compared to flat-plate PV systems.

scholarly journals Life cycle energy use and environmental implications of high-performance perovskite tandem solar cells

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (31) ◽  
pp. eabb0055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xueyu Tian ◽  
Samuel D. Stranks ◽  
Fengqi You
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Form Factors ◽  
Environmental Implications ◽  
Energy Payback ◽  
Payback Time ◽  
Energy Payback Time

A promising route to widespread deployment of photovoltaics is to harness inexpensive, highly-efficient tandems. We perform holistic life cycle assessments on the energy payback time, carbon footprint, and environmental impact scores for perovskite-silicon and perovskite-perovskite tandems benchmarked against state-of-the-art commercial silicon cells. The scalability of processing steps and materials in the manufacture and operation of tandems is considered. The resulting energy payback time and greenhouse gas emission factor of the all-perovskite tandem configuration are 0.35 years and 10.7 g CO2-eq/kWh, respectively, compared to 1.52 years and 24.6 g CO2-eq/kWh for the silicon benchmark. Prolonging the lifetime provides a strong technological lever for reducing the carbon footprint such that the perovskite-silicon tandem can outcompete the current benchmark on energy and environmental performance. Perovskite-perovskite tandems with flexible and lightweight form factors further improve the energy and environmental performance by around 6% and thus enhance the potential for large-scale, sustainable deployment.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document