Page 86 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

4.4 LCSA development in two decades of practice: A case study anthology 81
TABLE 4.3 Sustainability ranking of solar PV systems in Northeast England (Li et al., 2018).
Type of solar photovoltaic systems
Silicon Thin film
Sustainability dimensions Indicators s-Si p-Si CdTe
Techno-economic Availability factor 1 1 1
Capacity factor 2 1 3
Levelized cost 2 1 3
Payback period 2 1 3
Profitability 1 2 3
Subtotal 8 6 13
Environmental Circularity 1 1 2
Energy payback period 1 1 2
Global warming potential 1 1 2
Acidification potential 2 2 1
Eutrophication potential 1 1 2
Ozone layer depletion potential 1 1 2
Subtotal 7 7 11
Social Bill reduction rate 1 2 3
Employment provision 1 1 1
Subtotal 2 3 4
Grand total 17 16 28

Polycrystalline silicon (p-Si) systems were found to be the most sustainable option
followed by monocrystalline silicon (s-Si) systems. Cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film sys-
tems were the worst performing in all three sustainability dimensions.

4.4.7.3 Electricity generation systems in Greece
In Greece, Roinioti and Koroneos (2019) applied LCSA methodology to assess and compare
the sustainability of seven electricity generation systems (conventional lignite-fired power
plants, combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants, large hydropower plants (reservoirs),
wind power stations, photovoltaics, small hydropower plants, and biomass/biogas power
plants). Natural gas and fossil fuel are both imported. CCGT is an indigenously produced
fuel. The analysis was performed on a functional unit of 1kWh of electricity. The system
boundaries were from “cradle to gate” because operability indicators were not analyzed.
The sustainability indicators used were six for LCA, three for LCC, and six for SLCA. LCA
was conducted for the year 2015 (due to completeness of available data) using Gemis version
4.9.5 software and its database. Background LCA data and technical parameters (e.g.,