Sustainable Solar Electricity

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Contents
Acronyms
Part I Introduction
1 Scenarios for Solar Electricity at the TeraWatt Scale
	1.1 Evolution of Installed Photovoltaic Capacity
	1.2 Photovoltaics in the Scenarios of the International Energy Agency
	1.3 The TeraWatt Scale of Photovoltaic Deployment: Is There Any Limit?
	References
2 Photovoltaic Technology
	2.1 Introduction to the Physics of Solar Cells: Power Conversion from Sun to Electricity
		2.1.1 A Brief History of the Development of the Solar Cell
		2.1.2 Solar Radiation
		2.1.3 Metals and Semiconductors
		2.1.4 Equivalent Circuit and Parameters of the Solar Cell
	2.2 The Basic Structure of a Solar Cell
		2.2.1 Active Layers
		2.2.2 Electrodes
		2.2.3 Transporting Layers
	2.3 Classification of PV Technologies
	References
3 Assessment of Sustainability
	3.1 Environmental Sustainability: Life Cycle Assessment Applied to Energy Systems
		3.1.1 Goal and Scope of the LCA
		3.1.2 Life Cycle Inventory Analysis (LCI) Phase
		3.1.3 Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) Phase
		3.1.4 Life Cycle Interpretation Phase
	3.2 Socioeconomic Sustainability: Energy and Sustainable Development
		3.2.1 Life Cycle Costing and Total Cost of Ownership
		3.2.2 Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE)
		3.2.3 Value-Adjusted Levelized Cost of Electricity (VALCOE)
		3.2.4 Circular Economy, Environmental Footprints and Sustainable Development
	References
Part II Life Cycle Assessment of Solar Electricity
4 Production of PV Modules
	4.1 Crystalline Silicon Technology
		4.1.1 Silicon Processing: From Raw Material to Solar Grade Ingots
		4.1.2 Crystalline Solar Cell Manufacture
	4.2 Thin Film Technologies
		4.2.1 Amorphous Silicon
		4.2.2 Cadmium Telluride
		4.2.3 Chalcopyrites and Kesterites
	4.3 III-V Technologies
	4.4 Organic and Hybrid Emerging Technologies
		4.4.1 Organic Bulk Heterojunctions
		4.4.2 Dye Sensitized
		4.4.3 Perovskites
	4.5 From Cells to Modules
	References
5 The Limits of Raw Materials Embedded in PV Modules
	5.1 Silicon Feedstock and Other Raw Materials Embedded in the PV Cells
	5.2 Glass, Plastics and Frames for the PV Modules
	5.3 Strategic and Scarce Materials Embedded in PV Modules
	5.4 Polluting and Toxic Materials Embedded in PV Modules and Used in Its Manufacturing Process
		5.4.1 Silicon Mining and Processing Risks
		5.4.2 Cadmium Toxicity
		5.4.3 Lead Toxicity
		5.4.4 Sulphur Hexafluoride Environmental Damage
	References
6 The Energy Balance of Solar Electricity
	6.1 Embedded Energy in Photovoltaic Systems
		6.1.1 Embedded Energy in the Processing of Materials
		6.1.2 Embedded Energy in the Manufacturing of Modules
	6.2 Solar Electricity Production of a Photovoltaic System
		6.2.1 Electricity Production and Yield
		6.2.2 Lifetime of Photovoltaic Systems
	6.3 Energy Payback Time and Energy Return on (Energy) Investment
		6.3.1 Energy Payback Time Definition
		6.3.2 Technology Dependence of the Energy Payback Time
		6.3.3 Geographical Dependence of the Energy Payback Time
		6.3.4 Energy Return on (Energy) Investment
	References
7 Impacts of Solar Electricity
	7.1 Human Health Impacts
	7.2 Environmental Impacts
	7.3 Land use, Water, Mineral, Fossil and Renewable Depletion Impacts
	7.4 The Rapidly Evolving Impacts of Emerging PV Technologies
	7.5 Size Dependant Impacts of PV Systems …
	7.6 Impacts of Module Transportation During Manufacture, Installation and End of Life
	References
8 Recycling and End of Life of PV Technologies
	8.1 Reusing PV Modules
	8.2 Recycling PV Modules: Recovery of Components and Materials
	8.3 Recovery and Reuse of Substances Required for PV Module Manufacture
	References
9 Balance of System (BoS) and Storage
	9.1 Life Cycle Assessment of BoS Electronic Components
	9.2 Life Cycle Assessment of BoS Structural  and Mechanical Components
	9.3 Introduction to Electricity Storage for PV Systems
		9.3.1 Electricity Storage Technologies
		9.3.2 Battery Technologies
	9.4 Overview of Life Cycle Assessment Applied to Batteries
		9.4.1 Phases in LCA for Batteries
		9.4.2 Phases in LCA Including Second Life of Batteries
		9.4.3 Results of LCA for Batteries
	References
Part III Beyond Life Cycle Assessment: Socioeconomics and Geopolitics of Solar Electricity
10 Socioeconomic Impacts of Solar Electricity
	10.1 Cost of Ownership of Photovoltaic Systems
	10.2 The Cost of Solar Electricity: A Steady Learning Curve
	10.3 The Cost of Electricity Storage in Batteries
	10.4 Employment Opportunities Linked to the Solar Electricity Sector
	References
11 Standardization and Regulations for PV Technologies
	11.1 International Technical Standards for Photovoltaic Technology and Life Cycle Assessment
		11.1.1 International Organization for Standardization
		11.1.2 International Electrotechnical Commission
		11.1.3 Other International and National Standardization Organizations
	11.2 Regulatory Frameworks for Production, Recycling and End of Life of PV Modules
		11.2.1 China
		11.2.2 European Union
		11.2.3 United States of America
		11.2.4 Other Countries
	11.3 Ecodesign, Ecolabelling and Green Public Procurement
		11.3.1 Ecodesign
		11.3.2 Ecolabelling
		11.3.3 Green Public Procurement
	References
12 Solar Electricity and Globalization
	12.1 World Electricity Consumption Per Cápita
	12.2 Access to Energy and Development
	12.3 Solar Electricity for Rural Electrification …
	12.4 Mitigation of Climate Change: From Kyoto Protocol to Paris Agreement and Beyond
	12.5 Geopolitics of Photovoltaics
	References
Appendix  Conclusions
Index