By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-05-29 05:30
Environmental impact of the PV life-cycle
All means of electricity generation, including photovoltaic (PV) systems, create polluting emissions when the entire life-cycle is taken into account. In the case of PV systems, those emissions are concentrated in the manufacturing stage. PV manufacturing is energy intensive, resulting in the emissions that accompany the use of standard grid electricity. The energy balance of a PV system is expressed by the Energy Pay-Back Time (EPBT), which is the time it takes for the PV system to generate the amount of energy equal to that used in its production.
A new paper by M. Vasilis, V. Fthenakis, H.C. Kim and E. Alsema, published in the January 2008 Environmental Science & Technology, finds yet again that PV technologies generate far less life-cycle atmospheric emissions per GWh than conventional fossil-fuel generation technologies. It states that at least 89% of the harmful emissions into the atmosphere could be prevented if conventional grid electricity was to be replaced by photovoltaic electricity. According to this paper, the EPBT of a PV system varies between 1 and 6 years. Two years ago, a comparable literature study by the Energy Bulletin reported EPBTs between 2 and 8 years (see blog post).
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By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Wed, 2007-03-14 10:14
Our sun potentially offers a huge reservoir of clean, free energy. All one needs is a photovoltaic (PV) system to convert sunlight into electrical energy. Yet, up to now, the cost of solar modules has been very high, making PV an expensive energy source. To dramatically reduce the device cost of solar modules, Oerlikon has adapted its field proven, mass production technology, using the past years to develop innovative process solutions. Welcome to the future of solar energy!
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By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Wed, 2007-03-14 00:08
By Craig Addison and Eddy Blokken
The solar photovoltaic (PV) market has demonstrated an aggregated global growth rate of more than 40 percent per annum over the last 10 years. Few industries can boast equivalent numbers, but solar PV has two big challenges ahead. Production costs need to go down in order for it to become more economically sustainable, while production capacity must continue to grow in order for PV to become a significant player in the global energy market.
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By Sergio Ferreira / Published on Fri, 2007-03-09 16:03
Konarka stands for the ancient Indian temple dedicated to the sun god Surya, but it’s actually the name of the company that is behind a possible breakthrough in solar power technology.
Konarka is developing plastic solar cell strips (see picture) that can be manufactured like rolls of photographic film. Conducting polymers and nano-engineered materials that can be coated or printed onto a surface and that will enable systems and structures to have their own low-cost embedded source of renewable power.
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