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Adapting Stand‐Alone Renewable Energy Technologies for the Circular Economy through Eco‐Design and Recycling
Author(s) -
Gallagher John,
Basu Biswajit,
Browne Maria,
Kenna Alan,
McCormack Sarah,
Pilla Francesco,
Styles David
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of industrial ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.377
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1530-9290
pISSN - 1088-1980
DOI - 10.1111/jiec.12703
Subject(s) - renewable energy , greenhouse gas , industrial ecology , electricity , fossil fuel , circular economy , life cycle assessment , electricity generation , environmental science , environmental economics , resource efficiency , natural resource economics , resource (disambiguation) , emerging technologies , business , waste management , sustainability , production (economics) , engineering , computer science , economics , ecology , computer network , power (physics) , physics , macroeconomics , quantum mechanics , electrical engineering , biology , artificial intelligence
Summary Renewable energy (RE) technologies are looked upon favorably to provide for future energy demands and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the installation of these technologies requires large quantities of finite material resources. We apply life cycle assessment to 100 years of electricity generation from three stand‐alone RE technologies—solar photovoltaics, run‐of‐river hydro, and wind—to evaluate environmental burden profiles against baseline electricity generation from fossil fuels. We then devised scenarios to incorporate circular economy (CE) improvements targeting hotspots in systems’ life cycle, specifically (1) improved recycling rates for raw materials and (ii) the application of eco‐design. Hydro presented the lowest environmental burdens per kilowatt‐hour of electricity generation compared with other RE technologies, owing to its higher efficiency and longer life spans for main components. Distinct results were observed in the environmental performance of each system based on the consideration of improved recycling rates and eco‐design. CE measures produced similar modest savings in already low GHG emissions burdens for each technology, while eco‐design specifically had the potential to provide significant savings in abiotic resource depletion. Further research to explore the full potential of CE measures for RE technologies will curtail the resource intensity of RE technologies required to mitigate climate change.