Life cycle analysis of a solar thermal system with thermochemical storage process

Solar energy itself is generally considered as environmentally friendly, nevertheless it is still important to take into consideration the environmental impacts caused by production of thousands of solar thermal systems. In this work the standard LCA methodology has been extended to analyse the total environmental impacts of a new more efficient solar thermal system SOLARSTORE during its whole life cycle. This system is being developed by a 5th Framework EC project. The LCA results show that to produce 1 GJ energy with SOLARSTORE system will result in global warming potential of 6.3–10 kg CO2, acidification potential of 46.6–70 g SO2, eutrophication of 2.1–3.1 g phosphate and photochemical oxidant of 0.99–1.5 g C2H4. The raw material acquisition and components manufacturing processes contribute 99% to the total environmental impacts. In comparison with traditional heating systems, SOLARSTORE system provides a considerably better solution for reduction of negative environmental impacts by using solar energy more efficiently.