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Life Cycle Assessment of Photovoltaics; Update of the ecoinvent Database

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Niels Jungbluth ,
Roberto Dones  and
Rolf Frischknecht
Niels Jungbluth
Affiliation:
jungbluth@esu-services.ch, ESU-services Ltd., Head Quarter, Kanzleistr. 4, Uster, 8610, Switzerland
Roberto Dones
Affiliation:
roberto.dones@psi.ch, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen PSI, 5232, Switzerland
Rolf Frischknecht
Affiliation:
frischknecht@ecoinvent.org, ecoinvent Centre, Dübendorf, N/A, Switzerland
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Abstract

Recently, the data for photovoltaics in the ecoinvent database have been updated on behalf of the European Photovoltaics Industry Association and the Swiss Federal Authority for Energy. Data have been collected in this project directly from manufacturers and were provided by other research projects. LCA studies from different authors are considered for the assessment. The information is used to elaborate a life cycle inventory from cradle to grave for the PV electricity production in 3kWp plants in the year 2005.

The inventories cover mono- and polycrystalline cells, amorphous and ribbon-silicon, CdTe and CIS thin film cells. Environmental impacts due to the infrastructure for all production stages and the effluents from wafer production are also considered. The ecoinvent database is used as background database.

Results from the LCA study are presented, comparing different types of cells and analysing also the electricity production in a range of different countries. It is also discussed how the environmental impacts of photovoltaics have been reduced over the last 15 years, using the CED indicator. The consistent and coherent LCI datasets for basic processes make it easier to perform LCA studies, and increase the credibility and acceptance of the life cycle results. The content of the PV LCI datasets is made publicly available via the website www.ecoinvent.org for ecoinvent members.

Keywords

photovoltaicenvironmentally protectiveenvironmentally benign
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1041: Symposium R – Life-Cycle Analysis for New Energy Conversion and Storage Systems , 2007 , 1041-R01-03
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

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References

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