Title :
Amorphous silicon photovoltaic modules: a life cycle design case study
Author :
Lewis, Geoffrey ; Keoleian, Gregory A.
Author_Institution :
Nat. Pollution Prevention Center, Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Abstract :
The life cycle design framework was applied to photovoltaic module design. Two metrics were used to assess life cycle energy performance of a PV module: energy payback time; and electricity production efficiency. These metrics are based on material production, manufacturing, and transportation energies, and were evaluated for several geographic locations. An aluminum frame was responsible for a significant fraction of the total energy invested in the studied module. Design options to reduce the energy impact of this and other components are discussed
Keywords :
amorphous semiconductors; design engineering; economics; elemental semiconductors; environmental factors; silicon; solar cell arrays; Al; Si; amorphous semiconductor; case study; electricity production efficiency; energy payback time; energy performance; life cycle design; manufacturing; material production; photovoltaic module design; transportation energies; Amorphous silicon; Computer aided software engineering; Electronic equipment manufacture; Nuclear power generation; Photovoltaic systems; Power generation; Production; Semiconductor thin films; Solar power generation; Transistors;
Conference_Titel :
Electronics and the Environment, 1996. ISEE-1996., Proceedings of the 1996 IEEE International Symposium on
Conference_Location :
Dallas, TX
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-2950-3
DOI :
10.1109/ISEE.1996.501868
