Life Cycle Design of Amorphous Silicon Photovoltaic Modules

The life cycle design framework was applied to photovoltaic (PV) module design. The primary objective of this project was to develop and evaluate design metrics for assessing and guiding the improvement of PV product systems. Two metrics were used to assess life cycle energy performance of a PV module: energy payback time and electricity production efficiency. These metrics are based on material production, manufacturing, and transportation energies, and were evaluated for several geographic locations. An aluminum frame is responsible for a significant fraction of the total energy invested in the module studied. Design options to reduce the energy impact of this and other components are discussed. This Project Summary was developed by EPA’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, to announce key findings of the research project that is fully documented in a separate report of the same title (see Project Report ordering information at back).