Environmental impact assessment of monocrystalline silicon solar photovoltaic cell production: a case study in China

Life cycle assessment on monocrystalline silicon (mono-Si) solar photovoltaic (PV) cell production in China is performed in the present study, aiming to evaluate the environmental burden, identify key factors, and explore approaches for potential environmental improvement. Results show that the impact generated from the categories of human toxicity, marine ecotoxicity, and metal depletion contribute dominantly to the overall environmental burden because of silver (Ag) paste, electricity, and glass consumption. The energy payback time and greenhouse gas emission range from 0.42 to 0.91 years and 5.60-12.07 g CO2 eq/kWh respectively, both of which are lower than the previously reported results in studies in Europe, the United States, and Asia. However, compared with coal-based electricity generation that uses ultra-supercritical technology, the environmental payback time in human toxicity, marine ecotoxicity, and metal depletion categories is quite high because of the direct air emissions of lead, arsenic, mercury, copper, and nickel, as well as the use of Ag. Additionally, utilization of PV systems in regions with high solar radiation values has a high potential environmental benefit from PV systems. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.