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Life‐cycle greenhouse gas effects of introducing nano‐crystalline materials in thin‐film silicon solar cells
Author(s) -
van der Meulen Rob,
Alsema Erik
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
progress in photovoltaics: research and applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.286
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1099-159X
pISSN - 1062-7995
DOI - 10.1002/pip.1058
Subject(s) - silicon , amorphous silicon , greenhouse gas , crystalline silicon , copper indium gallium selenide solar cells , materials science , monocrystalline silicon , photovoltaics , engineering physics , photovoltaic system , thin film , life cycle assessment , environmental science , amorphous solid , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , engineering , electrical engineering , production (economics) , chemistry , geology , oceanography , organic chemistry , economics , macroeconomics
Abstract Solar PV is widely considered as a “green” technology. This paper, however, investigates the environmental impact of the production of solar modules made from thin‐film silicon. We focus on novel applications of nano‐crystalline Silicon materials (nc‐Si) into current amorphous Silicon (a‐Si) devices. Two nc‐Si specific details concerning the environmental performance can be identified, when we want to compare to a‐Si modules. First, in how far the extra (and thicker) silicon layer (s) affects upstream material requirements and energy use. Second, in how far depositing an extra silicon layer may increase emissions of greenhouse gases as additional emissions of Fluor gases (F‐gases) are associated to this step. The much larger global warming potential of F‐gases (17 200–22 800 times that of CO 2 ) may lead to higher environmental burdens. To date, no study has yet analyzed the effect of F‐gas usage on the environmental profile of thin‐film silicon solar modules. We performed a life‐cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate the current environmental usefulness of pursuing this novel micromorph concept. The switch to the new micromorph technology will result in a 60–85% increase in greenhouse gas emissions (per generated kWh solar electricity) in case of NF 3 based clean processing, and 15–100% when SF 6 is used. We conclude that F‐gas usage has a substantial environmental impact on both module types, in particular the micromorph one. Also, micromorph module efficiencies need to be improved from the current 8–9% (stabilized efficiency) toward 12–16% (stab. eff.) in order to compensate for the increased environmental impacts. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.