Environmental Impact of PV Systems: Effects of Energy Sources Used in Production of Solar Panels

Didier Beloin-Saint-Pierre (1) , Isabelle Blanc (2) , Jérôme Payet (3) , Philippe Jacquin (4) , Nadine Adra (5) , Didier Mayer (1)

1 CEP - Centre Énergétique et Procédés
2 CEP/Sophia
3 SETEMIP-Environnement
4 PHK Consultants
5 Transenergie

The international expansion of the PV industry can affect the range of indirect environmental impacts, and mostly the CO2 equivalent emissions, of the solar electricity produced in any country. We demonstrate a clear trend towards high variation in the global warming potential of solar electricity produced in France by PV installations which use modules produced with different electricity mix. The variation is somewhat less important when looking at the Energy Payback Time (EPBT) of the PV installation. In any studied case, the transportation between countries has a low effect compared to the choice made on the source of electricity used during the different steps involved in the fabrication of modules for any technology.

Mots clés: Energy Options; Environmental Effect; Module Manufacturing

Domaines: Energétique; Développement durable; Prospective long-terme; Sciences de l'environnement

Didier Beloin-Saint-Pierre, Isabelle Blanc, Jérôme Payet, Philippe Jacquin, Nadine Adra, et al.. Environmental Impact of PV Systems: Effects of Energy Sources Used in Production of Solar Panels. 24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, Sep 2009, Hamburg, Germany. pp.4517-4520 - ISBN 3-936338-25-6, ⟨10.4229/24thEUPVSEC2009-6DV.3.7⟩. ⟨hal-00487349⟩