An environmental Life Cycle Assessment of rooftop solar in Bangkok, Thailand

Affiliations

(a) Institute for the Environment, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA

(b) The Joint Graduate School for Energy and the Environment, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand

(c) The School of Energy, Environment and Materials, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand

(d) Center of Excellence on Energy Technology and Environment, PERDO, Bangkok, Thailand

(e) Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA

Abstract

This study quantifies the environmental burdens created by a planned rooftop photovoltaic (PV) solar installation on a university campus in Bangkok, Thailand, and models the potential of rooftop solar to meet the country’s renewable energy goals. Impacts are evaluated using Life Cycle Assessment and recommendations made for upstream purchasing decisions according to different scenarios. Results indicate that main contribution to impacts occurs in manufacturing by stage and from PV modules by component. Impacts generated by the mounting structure and inverters are also significant, and together these components constitute over 90% of environmental burdens. A climate change impact of 0.079 kg CO₂-eq/kWh is produced over the lifetime of the system. Energy Payback Time is calculated as 2.5 years, and the Economic Payback Period is 7.4 years. The system is estimated to avoid 1.00E+06 kg CO₂-eq over its lifetime. Installation of similar rooftop PV systems on 50% of university and government buildings in Bangkok could result in a net reduction of 4.80E+09 kg CO₂-eq. Domestic production of components and recycling of materials is identified as a best-case scenario, with alleviations across all impact categories. Economic analysis suggests on-site electricity consumption paired with a net-metering policy scheme is the best way to incentivize PV solar energy installations.

Cite:

John Eskew, Meredith Ratledge, Michael Wallace, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Pattana Rakkwamsuk, An environmental Life Cycle Assessment of rooftop solar in Bangkok, Thailand, Renewable Energy, Volume 123, 2018, Pages 781-792, ISSN 0960-1481, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.02.045.