Solar Manufacturing: Environmental Design Concepts for Solar Modules

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Solar Manufacturing: Environmental Design Concepts for Solar Modules

Solar Manufacturing: Environmental Design Concepts for Solar Modules

Authors: Michelle Poliskie

Published: July 2013

eISBN: 9780071795432 007179543X | ISBN: 9780071795425

Cover

About the Author

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Preface

References

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Introduction to Photovoltaic Modules

1.1. Types of Photovoltaic Cells

1.1.1. Creating Electricity from Photovoltaic Cells

1.1.2. Optimizing the Electrical Performance of Photovoltaic Cells

1.2. Introduction to Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells

1.2.1. Quality Requirements for Silicon Photovoltaic Cells

1.2.2. Environmental Considerations for Silicon Photovoltaic Cell Manufacturing

1.2.3. Comparison of the Hazards between Silicon and Coal Mining

1.3. Introduction to Thin-Film Photovoltaic Cells

1.3.1. Manufacturing Processes for Amorphous Silicon Cells

1.3.2. Manufacturing Processes for Cadmium-Telluride Cells

1.3.3. Environmental Considerations of Thin-Film Manufacturing

1.4. Multijunction Cells Used in Concentrated Photovoltaics

1.5. Module Construction

1.5.1. Flat Module Construction

1.5.2. Concentrated Photovoltaic Module Construction

1.6. Introduction to Balance of Systems

1.6.1. Roof-Mounted Systems

1.6.2. Ground Mounts

1.6.3. Trackers for Flat and CPV Modules

1.6.4. Environmental Impacts of the Balance of Systems

References

Chapter 2: Motivation for Sustainable Development Initiatives in the Photovoltaic Industry

2.1. The Malthusian Dilemma

2.2. Scientific Correlation between Global Climate Change and Energy Sources

2.3. Energy Sources and National Grid Mixes

2.4. Material Constraints for Photovoltaics

2.5. Sustainable Development Departments in Photovoltaic Companies

References

Chapter 3: Environmental Sustainability Metrics Used by Photovoltaic Companies

3.1. The Future Recycling Market for Photovoltaic Modules

3.2. Recycling Techniques for Photovoltaic Modules

3.2.1. Crystalline-Silicon Recycling

3.2.2. Cadmium Telluride Recycling

3.2.3. Copper-Indium-Gallium Diselenide Recycling

3.3. Cost of Recycling Modules

3.4. Industrial Coalition: The Industry’s Response to Recycling

3.5. Environmental Management Systems

3.5.1. International Organization for Standardization Certification

3.5.2. Ecomanagement and Audit Scheme

3.6. Introduction to Life-Cycle Assessments

3.6.1. Goal and Scope of a Life-Cycle Assessment

3.6.2. Life-Cycle Inventory

3.6.3. Life-Cycle Impact Assessment

3.6.4. Interpretation

3.6.5. Guidelines for Photovoltaic Life-Cycle Assessments

3.6.6. Life-Cycle Assessment Software

3.6.7. Environmental Product Declarations

3.7. Building Codes

3.7.1. Introduction to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

3.7.2. Introduction to the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method

References

Chapter 4: Environmental Regulations as Trade Barriers

4.1. Environmental Policies in the United States

4.1.1. The U.S. Clean Air Act

4.1.2. The U.S. Clean Water Act

4.1.3. The U.S. Solid Waste Disposal Act

4.1.4. The U.S. Endangered Species Act

4.1.5. Approaches to Policy Improvement

4.2. U.S. Hazardous Waste Regulations

4.2.1. Types of Leaching Protocols

4.2.2. U.S. Waste-Characterization Protocols

4.2.3. Photovoltaic Modules and U.S. Waste-Characterization Protocols

4.3. European Union Waste Characterizations and Regulations

4.4. Packaging Directives in the United States

4.5. Packaging Directives in the European Union

4.6. Module Manufacturers and Packaging Directives

4.7. Restriction of Hazardous-Substances Directive

4.8. Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals

4.9. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive

4.10. Global Harmonization of Environmental Regulations

References

Chapter 5: Current Trends to Increase the Environmental Sustainability of Photovoltaic Modules

5.1. Sustainable Design and Practices

5.2. Trend of Including Cheaper Polymeric Components

5.2.1. Environmental Impact of the Polymers Used in Photovoltaic Modules

5.3. Eliminating Restricted Elements from Photovoltaic Cells

5.4. Environmental Improvement of Frameless Photovoltaic Modules

5.5. Recyclable Photovoltaic Modules

5.6. Slurry Recycling in Crystalline-Silicon-Cell Manufacturing

5.7. Glass Recycling of Photovoltaic Module Superstrates

References

Appendix A: Common Measurements and International System of Units

Appendix B: Common Conversions

Appendix C: Example of an AHP Calculation of Suppliers to Photovoltaic Manufacturers

Appendix D: U.S. Definition and Characteristics of Hazardous Waste

Appendix E: Environmental Regulatory Agencies Throughout the World

Appendix F: Relevant Industry- and Discipline-Specific Acronyms

Appendix G: Important U.S. Environmental Regulations

Appendix H: Important European Union Environmental Regulations

Appendix I: Common Photovoltaic Performance Characteristics

I.1. Current, Voltage, and Power

I.2. Module Efficiency

I.3. Performance Ratio

Appendix J: Example of a Life-Cycle Assessment Applied to a Photovoltaic Module

Abstract

Introduction

Procedure

Results

Conclusion

References

Appendix K: LCA Results for Various Photovoltaic Technologies

Appendix L: Global-Warming Potential for Some Greenhouse Gases

Appendix M: SPI Resin Identification Codes

Appendix N: Glossary

Index