Life cycle assessment of a micromorph photovoltaic system

In this paper the results from a in-depth life cycle analysis of production and use of a novel grid-connected photovoltaic micromorph system are presented and compared to other thin film and traditional crystalline silicon photovoltaic technologies. Among the new thin film technologies, the micromorph tandem junction appears to be one of the most promising devices from the industrial point of view. The analysis was based on actual production data given to the authors directly from the PRAMAC Swiss Company and it is consistent with the recommendations provided by the ISO norms and updates. The gross energy requirement, green house gas emissions and energy pay-back time have been calculated for the electric energy output virtually generated by the studied system in a lifetime period of 20 years. A comparative framework is also provided, wherein results obtained for the case study are compared with data from literature previously obtained for the best commercially available competing photovoltaic technologies. Results clearly show a significant decrease in gross energy requirement, in green house gas emissions and also a shorter energy pay-back time for the micromorph technology.

► A detailed life cycle analysis of the production and use of photovoltaic thin film micromorph module system is presented.
► Photovoltaic thin film micromorph technology combines an a-Si layer with a micro-Si layer in a tandem junction device.
► The analysis is based on actual production data and on data collected from a real photovoltaic grid-connected micromorph installation.
► Environmental impacts predicted for case study are compared to those of different photovoltaic systems and with data from international literature.
► Better environmental performance for micromorph technology: a significant decrease in the GER, a lower GHG level and shorter EPBT.