Home Physical Sciences 11 Sustainability assessment methods
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

11 Sustainability assessment methods

  • Sina Herceg , Sebastián Pinto Bautista and Karl-Anders Weiß
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill
Photovoltaic Modules
This chapter is in the book Photovoltaic Modules

Abstract

Despite photovoltaic (PV) deployment being motivated by an energy transition toward a cleaner grid, the technology is not exempt of producing negative impacts to the environment during production and disposal. The ecological sustainability of a specific system or a product can be measured by looking at its environmental profile. This profile can also be understood as the ecological footprint and serves to describe the interactions and associated impacts on the environment. When evaluating the whole lifecycle of PV modules, hot spots of energy use and materials’ demand can be identified. These emissions have to be properly assessed in order to lower the environmental downsides of PV while turning it into an exemplary technology.

Abstract

Despite photovoltaic (PV) deployment being motivated by an energy transition toward a cleaner grid, the technology is not exempt of producing negative impacts to the environment during production and disposal. The ecological sustainability of a specific system or a product can be measured by looking at its environmental profile. This profile can also be understood as the ecological footprint and serves to describe the interactions and associated impacts on the environment. When evaluating the whole lifecycle of PV modules, hot spots of energy use and materials’ demand can be identified. These emissions have to be properly assessed in order to lower the environmental downsides of PV while turning it into an exemplary technology.

Downloaded on 15.10.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110685558-011/html
Scroll to top button