A prospective ecological risk assessment of high-efficiency III-V/silicon tandem solar cells.
Environ Sci Process Impacts
; 26(3): 540-554, 2024 Mar 20.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38299676
ABSTRACT
III-V/Silicon tandem solar cells offer one of the most promising avenues for high-efficiency, high-stability photovoltaics. However, a key concern is the potential environmental release of group III-V elements, especially arsenic. To inform long-term policies on the energy transition and energy security, we develop and implement a framework that fully integrates future PV demand scenarios with dynamic stock, emission, and fate models in a probabilistic ecological risk assessment. We examine three geographical scales local (including a floating utility-scale PV and waste treatment), regional (city-wide), and continental (Europe). Our probabilistic assessment considers a wide range of possible values for over one hundred uncertain technical, environmental, and regulatory parameters. We find that III-V/silicon PV integration in energy grids at all scales presents low-to-negligible risks to soil and freshwater organisms. Risks are further abated if recycling of III-V materials is considered at the panels' end-of-life.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Silicon
/
Solar Energy
Type of study:
Etiology_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Language:
En
Journal:
Environ Sci Process Impacts
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: