Volume 61

Analysis of the hourly Global Warming Potential mitigation of photovoltaic systems in Europe Santiago Valencia G., Andreas Theocharis, Joakim Munkhammar, Xingxing Zhang

Abstract

The fastest growing renewable energy technology in Europe is solar photovoltaic (PV). Despite no burning fossil fuels during its operation, the production of PV modules and other components cause the emission of greenhouse gases. The global warming potential (GWP) associated with the generation of PV energy can be higher than that from the grid in some locations. This study explores the fraction of the year, and its related energy generation, during which PV energy has a lower global warming potential than the local grid. This analysis is done in seven different locations within Europe, for three PV systems with different GWP. The results show that in most cases the PV systems have the capacity of reducing the GWP from the grid 100% of the time. However, there are a few exceptions in countries with a low-carbon grid such as France, Sweden and Norway with a GWP reduction related to only 46%, 16% and 17% of the energy generation respectively.

Keywords Photovoltaic Systems, Global Warming Potential, life cycle assessment.