Quantifying the Life-Cycle Environmental Profile of Photovoltaics and Comparisons with Other Electricity-Generating Technologies

The various detrimental environmental and health effects of conventional electricity generation have long been recognized. Renewable technologies offer the opportunity for reducing such impacts, but, during their entire life cycle, their use is not without effects. Indeed, some major European and Australian studies portrayed photovoltaic systems as causing significant life-cycle environmental and health impacts, due to the fossil energy used in the production of cell and module materials. However, the most recent studies on the life-cycle impacts of c-Si and thin film photovoltaics show that they are drastically lower than the ones earlier reported. Such improvements reflect the more effective use of material, thinner layers, improvements in the balance-of-systems components and installation, frameless modules, and higher conversion efficiencies. This paper summarizes a comparison of the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the life-cycle of PV, nuclear, fossil and biomass electricity generation in the U.S