Life cycle water use for photovoltaic electricity generation: a review and harmonization of literature estimates.

This work provides consolidated estimates of water withdrawal and water consumption requirements for the full life cycle of photovoltaic (PV) systems, including component manufacturing, power plant construction, system operation, and decommissioning. Life cycle data were also collected for other types of electricity generating technologies for comparison purposes. Published estimates were gathered through a broad search of publicly available sources, screened for quality and relevance, and harmonized for methodological differences, when possible. Compared with other electricity generating technologies, the total life cycle water use for PV systems are lower than all other technologies except for wind technologies.