A Life Cycle Assessment

of Multi-Crystalline Solar
Photovoltaic Technology

Engineering Research Methodology

(ENGE802/01_2018)

Student: Anushka Pal (16929671)

Supervisor: Dr Jeff Kilby
Why we do LCA of any technology?

Life cycle assessment: Sustainable and factual

analysis of a product’s entire life cycle.

With LCA, you can evaluate the environmental

impacts of your product or service.

the four main phases of an LCA:

•Goal and scope,
•Inventory analysis
•Impact assessment
•Interpretation
Goal and Scope
 To quantitatively assess the life cycle environmental impacts of multi-crystalline
solar PV systems.
 System boundaries are
 silica extraction to the crystalline silicon bar
 ingot growth
 midstream processes,
 For Rooftop PV, the Balance of System (BOS) includes
 inverters,
 mounting structures,
 cable and connectors.
 For Large-scale ground-mounted PV
 grid connections,
 office facilities and
 concrete.
System Boundary and Description of a
Solar PV System
Characteristics of module

Item Description

Module size 1482 × 992 × 35 mm

Mass 16.8 kg

Frame Aluminium alloy

Front glass Tampering glass 3.2 mm

ЕVA sheet thickness 0.5 mm

Wafer thickness 200 um ± 20 um

Number of cells par module 54 (6 × 9)

Cell area 156 × 156 mm2

Efficiency of cells 16%

Operation life 30 years

Methodology

LCA which will be performed by using the Sima Pro

software for multi-crystalline solar PV.

The environmental burdens will be calculated

according to the indicators proposed by IMPACT
2002+ method

Purpose of LCIA (Life Cycle Impact Assessment)

evaluates the significance and magnitude of potential
environmental impacts for a product through LCA
Conclusion

Module assembly and silicon purification impact most

categories

Energy consuming processes have highest the

negative impacts to environment and human health.

The module assembly and silicon purification were

the most еnеrgy consuming processes.

Efforts should be concentrated on making

improvements in these two processes.