Lifecycle climate impacts and economic performance of commercial-scale solar PV systems: A study of PV systems at Nevada's Desert Research Institute (DRI)

The modeled benefits of the PV systems are dependent upon the power mix of the grid electricity that is being displaced. As the grid becomes “cleaner” by elimination of coal and greater use of renewables, the CO2 reduction benefits are diminished. Changing from a “business as usual” scenario to cleaner grid scenarios was shown to reduce the GHG benefits of installed PV systems by up to 40%.