Environmental sustainability analysis of renewable energy generation with photovoltaic solar panels in Turkey

Abstract

Life Cycle Assessment is a method that scrutinizes in detail the toxic environmental effects of products and services over their entire life span. The aim of this study is to reveal the environmental effects of solar panels, which are accepted as the cleanest method of obtaining energy, throughout their life cycle and to present a more sustainable solar energy generation roadmap. For this reason, multi-Si PV solar panel type, which is the most widely used type and dominates the world market, has been studied. Environmental impact categories were assessed using GaBi 9.5 Software, EcoInvent Database and CML Assessment Methodology. While evaluating the life cycle of the multi Si PV panel, metallurgical silicon smelting, solar grade multi-Si purification, wafer slicing, ingot casting, cell processing, panel assembly, transportations and recycling stages were studied. In addition, three different recycling scenarios, which diverge according to delamination methods, were also examined in terms of their environmental effects. Thus, a framework has been put forward on how the toxic effects of solar panels at the end of their life can be minimized. In this research, both real sector data and literature data were used. The multisilicon production process, which consists of the stages of metallurgical silicon smelting and solar grade multi- Si purification, and module assembly stage emerged as the two processes that cause the most environmental impact. In recycling scenarios, the FRELP2 process, which is a combination of thermal and chemical delamination processes, provided the best results in terms of environmental impact.