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Abstract
Purpose
Both the capital cost and levelized cost of electricity of utility-scale ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are less than those of representative residential-scale solar rooftop systems. There is no life cycle analysis (LCA) study comparing the environmental impact of rooftop PV system and large utility-scale solar PV system. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap and provide a comprehensive LCA of a representative 7.4 kWp rooftop and 3.5 MWp utility-scale solar PV systems from cradle to grave.
Methods
The energy as well as CO2 and water footprint during the manufacture, use, and end of life of both systems will be quantified. The primary focus of this study will be on the LCA of racking/mounting systems as these are the greatest source of divergence between the two main system types. In addition, sensitivities are run on (1) PV module types, (2) footings for the ground-mounted systems, and (3) geographic locations in different states of the USA.
Results
Overall, the embodied energy per kWp of the rooftop-mounted PV system is 21–54% lower than that of the utility-scale ground-mounted PV system. The higher embodied energy of the ground-mounted systems is so much larger than the rooftop systems that even sub-optimally oriented rooftops still have substantially lower energy payback times in all regions. Similarly, the greenhouse gas emissions attributed to the ground-mount system with rack a is 2.5 times, and ground-mount system with rack b is 1.2 times greater per kWp than that of the rooftop system. A rooftop solar PV system requires 21 to 54% less input energy, emits 18 to 59% less CO2eq. of greenhouse gas emissions, and consumes a reduced quantity of water ranging from 1 to 12% per kWp. The energy payback time of rooftop solar systems is approximately 51 to 57% lower than that of ground-mounted solar systems across all locations.
Conclusions
Overall the CO2 payback time was 378 to 428% higher for ground-mounted PV compared to rooftop PV for the same modules and 125 to 142% higher for ground-mounted compared to rooftop PV for the most common modules used for both applications. Although water use is dominated by the PV modules themselves, it is important to note that the water consumption for the utility-scale ground rack is approximately 260 times (rack a) and 6 times (rack b) higher than that of the rooftop mounting structure.
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Funding
This study was supported by the Thompson Endowment and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
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Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
Riya Roy & Joshua M. Pearce
Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
Joshua M. Pearce
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Correspondence toJoshua M. Pearce.
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Highlights
• A comprehensive LCA of a rooftop and large utility-scale solar PV systems.
• This study will primarily focus on the LCA of racking/mounting systems along with three sensitivity analyses.
• Rooftop PV systems use 21–54% less energy, 18–59% less CO2eq., and 1–12% less water/kWp.
• Rooftop solar systems have 51–57% lower EPBT than ground-mounted solar systems.
• Ground-mount systems had 378–428% greater CPBT for the same modules and 125–142% higher for the most common modules than rooftop systems.
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Roy, R., Pearce, J.M. Is small or big solar better for the environment? Comparative life cycle assessment of solar photovoltaic rooftop vs. ground-mounted systems.Int J Life Cycle Assess29, 516–536 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-023-02254-x
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