Environmental and economic LCI of a micro-CPV module

Abstract

Despite the renewable nature of solar energy, the sustainability of photovoltaic (PV) systems needs to be evaluated in order to minimize adverse environmental impacts and optimize economic performance. This piece of research represents a first approach to produce an environmental and economic assessment of a 1.0 m2 (350 W) micro concentrator PV (microCPV) module designed at Institute of Solar Energy (IES-UPM) in Spain. The incorporation of concentrating lenses allows this technology to produce electricity from direct solar radiation at higher efficiencies than conventional PV cells. The aim of this work is to propose a representative architecture for the micro-CPV system that allows the quantification of a material, energy and economic Life Cycle Inventory (LCI), as the basis to conduct a Life Cycle Cost Assessment (LCC) and an Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).