Environmental Sustainability of Concentrator PV Systems: Preliminary LCA Results of the Apollon Project

Abstract

Energy payback time and carbon footprint have been calculated for 2 commercially available and 3 new CPV systems by life cycle assessment. Calculations have been carried out for the location of Catania, Sicily (Italy). The energy payback time varies from between 0.8 and 1.9 years. The carbon footprint varies from between 18 and 45 grams of CO2- eq/kWh produced. The CPV systems are at varying stages of development, with different sizes and scale of production. Further development, increased size and scale of production are expected to bring a further decrease in the impacts. The largest contribution to the payback time and carbon footprint is from the tracking and module materials. Achieving high efficiencies and increasing the lifetime of the components is important to increase the kWh produced by the CPV system.