Life Cycle Assessment of a Building Integrated Concentrated Photovoltaic scheme

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study of a Building Integrated Concentrated Photovoltaic (BICPV) scheme at the University of Lleida (Spain) is conducted. Assumptions for representing a real building are considered, and a comparison to a hypothetical conventional Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) scheme is established. The Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) is performed using the EI99 methodology, which is considered to be the reference. In addition, the environmental impact is re-evaluated using the EPS 2000 methodology. The results show a significant extent of the environmental benefits gained using the BICPV schemes. Some differences in the components impact contribution percentages are noticed between the EI99 and the EPS 2000 methodologies. Nevertheless, both methodologies coincide in the conclusion of the significant environmental impact reduction reached from replacing the conventional BIPV schemes with the BICPV ones. Recommendations for future work and system improvements are discussed as well.