Amin Zayani 2806043 ERM WS 2009/10 14.01.2010C o r p o r a t e E n v i r o n m e n t a l P r o t e c t i o n

Assessment of the environmental friendliness of Photovoltaic cells:

Energetic aspect

Credits: http://www.eets.co.uk.

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1. Basics of PV technology

2. Fields of use

3. Industry overview

4. Energy payback periods

4.1.!Comparison based on geographic location: Case study

4.2. Use in automotive industry: Case study

4.3. Use in consumer electronics

5. Conclusion

6. References

Table of contents:

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1. Basics of PV technology

Credits:http://www.sunnywinenergy.com

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2. Fields of use

•Residential installation

•Commercial plants

•Off-grid systems

•Consumer goodsCredits:http://www.ardenhamenergy.co.uk http://technology4life.wordpress.com http://www.iteco.ch http://www.homesolarinfo.com

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Historical development of Global cumulative PV power installed per region

Credits:Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics until 2013 EPIA . April 2009

3. Industry overview

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4. Energy payback periods

Credits: Life Cycle Assessment of Photovoltaics: Update of ecoinvent data. Energy research Centre of the Netherlands, Unit Solar Energy

Swiss PV installations: Payback time. 2008.

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!"#

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!"#$ %&'()*+,&-$&.$/+..0*0-1$2&3-1*+0,$!"#"4$ 560*)70$08021*+2+19$'+:0,$Fig. 9 shows the global warming potential (100a) for the photovoltaic power plant mix in different countries. This is calculated with the shares of PV plants shown in Tab. 1 and the irradiation data described in section 3.5. The comparison shows that there might be considerable differences between different countries depending on the irradiation and thus on the actual yield per kWp installed. CO2-equivalent emission per kWh might be as low as 50 grams per kWh to the grid in the average case investigated for Spain. They will be even lower if optimum installations with best performance ratios are taken into account.

Credits: Life Cycle Assessment of Photovoltaics: Update of ecoinvent data. Energy research Centre of the Netherlands, Unit Solar Energy

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4. Energy payback periods

Energy Payback time for PV cells 2009

Credits: Energy payback times of PV modules and systems. Mariska de Wild-Scholten. November 2009.

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Tunisia: TunisYearly global irradiation: 1818 [kWh/m2]

Germany: DresdenYearly global irradiation: 1130 [kWh/m2]

Meteotest; database Meteonorm!(www.meteonorm.com)

4.1.!Comparison based on geographic location: Case study

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IKEA Dresden: Parking area = 38588m2

Carrefour Tunis: Parking area = 38530m2

Credits: http://cam.sit-livecam.de/Ikea. July 2009.

Credits: Bilel Gaaliche. April 2009.Credits: Bilel Gaaliche. April 2009.10

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• First Solar FS Series 2 PV Module (FS - 277)

• Area: 0.72m2

• Rated power output: 58.1Wp

• Warranty: power output warranty of 90% of the nominal output power rating during the first10 years and 80% during 25 years.

• Cumulative energy input (industry standard): 12236 MJ/kWp

• CdTe: By product from Zinc refining. Not classified as hazardous.

Credits: First Solar.

Technology chosen: CdTe

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Site

Dresden

Tunis

Total parking area

PV covered area

Number of panels

installedPeak capacity

Yearly production

38588 m! 25000 m! 34722 2 MWp 1716 MWh

38530 m! 25000 m! 34722 2 MWp 2675MWh

Results:

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Site

Dresden

Tunis

Total Cumulative energy input

Yearly generated electricity

Efficiency in electricity

supply

Avoided primary energy

Energy payback time

685.7MWh 1716 MWh 3.16KWh 5435 MWh 1.26 years

685.7MWh 2675MWh 3.16KWh 8469MWh 0.8 years

Energy payback time:

13

0

675,000

1,350,000

2,025,000

2,700,000

DresdenTunis

Yearly produced electricity [KWh]

0

0

1

1

1

Dresden

Tunis

Payback time [years]

Energy payback time:

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4.2. Use in automotive industry

•Bollore/Pininfarina Blue car:

330"/ month.

•Fisker Karma.

Credits: Fisker Automotive.

Credits: Blue Car.

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4.2. Use in automotive industry: Case study

•Manufacturer: Toyota

•Modifier: Solar Electric

Vehicles

•PV module : 215Wp

•The car uses 95-110 Wh/Km

(in full-electric mode)

•Drives 8 to 13 km on one day

solar charge (California

conditions)Credits: http://www.solarelectricalvehicles.com

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Useful life: 160,000 Km160,000 Km

Assumptions:4.28L/100 Km 5.23L/ 100Km

Assumptions:17 to 29 % savings17 to 29 % savings

Total consumption: 6882 L 8411 L

Savings 1185 to 2010 L 1446 to 2453 L

Manufacturer Data:

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Credits: http://www.crunchgear.com http://education.ti.com http://www.china-solar.com/ http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/ http://www.casio.co.uk http://www.made-in-china.com

4.3. Use in consumer electronics

•100% renewable energy

supply.

•Increased independence

from electricity plugs =

autonomy.

•Avoids a lot of toxic

disposable batteries from

going to waste.

•Adds a non-hazardous

component to the devices.

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5. Conclusion

•PV cells energetic payback time ranges between < 1 year

and 5 years depending on the location and the

technology.

•Manufacturers are decreasing material and energy used

for economical reasons.

•PV cells supply green electricity to the grid and off the

grid.

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• ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF PV ELECTRICITY GENERATION - A CRITICAL COMPARISON OF ENERGY SUPPLY OPTIONS, Alsema, De wild Fthenakis. 2006

• Energy payback times of PV modules and systems Mariska de Wild-Scholten. 2009.

• Environmental Assessment and Metrics for Solar: Case Study of SolFocus Solar Concentrator Systems

• Life Cycle Assessment of Photovoltaics: Update of ecoinvent data. Energy research Centre of the Netherlands, Unit Solar Energy

• European Commission, Joint Research Centre Institute for Energy, Renewable Energy Unit http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/index.htm

• Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics until 2013 EPIA . April 2009

• http://www.solarelectricalvehicles.com/articles/prius-white-paper.shtml <last access: 14.01.2010>

• www.Firstsolar.com <last access: 13.01.2010>

6. References

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