Embodied Energy and Cost Assessments of a Concentrating Photovoltaic Module

Freier Raine, Daria; Muhammad-Sukki, Firdaus; Ramirez-Iniguez, Roberto; Ardila-Rey, Jorge Alfredo; Jafry, Tahseen; Gamio, Carlos

Abstract

This paper focuses on the embodied energy and cost assessments of a static concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) module in comparison to the flat photovoltaic (PV) module. The CPV module employs a specific concentrator design from the Genetically Optimised Circular Rotational Square Hyperboloid (GOCRSH) concentrators, labelled as GOCRSH_A. Firstly, it discussed previous research on life cycle analyses for PV and CPV modules. Next, it compared the energy embodied in the materials of the GOCRSH_A module to the energy embodied in the materials of a flat PV module of the same electrical output. Lastly, a comparison in terms of cost is presented between the analysed GOCRSH_A module and the flat PV module. It was found that the GOCRSH_A module showed a reduction in embodied energy of 17% which indicates a reduction in embodied carbon. In terms of cost, the costs for the GOCRSH_A module were calculated to be 1.71 times higher than the flat PV module of the same electrical output. It is concluded that a trade-off is required between the embodied energy and cost impacts in order to bring this CPV technology into the market.

Citation

Freier Raine, D., Muhammad-Sukki, F., Ramirez-Iniguez, R., Ardila-Rey, J. A., Jafry, T., & Gamio, C. (2021). Embodied Energy and Cost Assessments of a Concentrating Photovoltaic Module. Sustainability, 13(24), Article 13916. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413916

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 14, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Dec 16, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-12
• Deposit Date: Dec 17, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 17, 2021
• Journal: Sustainability
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 24
• Article Number: 13916
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413916
• Keywords: GOCRSH; life cycle analysis; energy embodiment; cost analysis
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2830693