The life cycle of photovoltaic (PV) modules produced by Chinese industry was assessed based on collecting data from mainstream and best technologies for PV module production in China in 2009, as well as adopting life cycle data of auxiliary materials from the Ecoinvent database. This research also analyzed Energy Pay-back Time as well as Global Warming Potential of PV panels, and considered the influence of different production processes and parameters. Results show that, for PV products, the technology level of the solar-grade polycrystalline silicon production and the casting/wafering processes are the most energy intensive and have the greatest impact on the environment. Products made using the mainstream technology have far more energy requirements and environmental impacts than the ones made using the best technology. For the Chinese PV industry, it is important to improve technologies for polycrystalline silicon production and wafering to reduce the energy costs and environmental impacts of PV products.%在收集 2009 年我国光伏组件生产的主流及最优技术水平数据的基础上,采用 Ecoinvent 数据库中辅助材料的生命周期数据,开展了我国光伏组件生命周期评价研究,计算了能量回收期和全球变暖潜值,并探讨了不同生产步骤和生产参数的影响.结果表明:太阳能级多晶硅生产和铸锭、切片工艺的技术水平对光伏产品的能量消耗和环境影响最大,我国主流技术水平情景下的产品能耗和环境影响远大于最优技术水平.对于我国光伏产业来说,要降低光伏产品的环境影响,应着重从改进多晶硅生产技术和提高硅片切割效率入手.
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