LAPSE:2023.15166
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.15166
Comparison of Environmental Impact Assessment Methods in the Assembly and Operation of Photovoltaic Power Plants: A Systematic Review in the Castilla—La Mancha Region
March 2, 2023
Solar energy is in high demand due to its environmental benefits and economic potential; however, concerns remain about the total impact it holds. In 2020, for Spain, Castilla-La Mancha was the second autonomous community with the highest photovoltaic energy production. Thus, a systematic review on 15 large-scale PV solar energy projects was carried out to assess the industry impacts, through environmental impact assessment (EIA), within the Autonomous Community of Castilla—La Mancha. An estimation of these impacts from a pre-operational approach is presented, based on primary energy needs and emissions discarded during its life cycle due to the manufacture, operation, and recycling of the photovoltaic modules. Based on both the life cycle assessment (LCA) and EIA, the approaches were compared with the results obtained. The obtained results suggest that determining the actual impacts of power plants in this region could provide justified information for the public administration and technicians in the measures for the installation and operation of PV plants and the future benefits of renewable solar technologies. Furthermore, the results indicate the possibility to recognize the relationship between the size of the plant and a high generation capacity, with a shorter time to pay for emissions from the manufacture and recycling of panels, suggesting that it is around 1.66−2.08 years for the Castilla-La Mancha region.
Keywords
clean energy, environmental impact assessment, greenhouse gas emissions, Life Cycle Analysis, photovoltaic power plant
Suggested Citation
Zarzavilla M, Quintero A, Abellán MA, Serrano FL, Austin MC, Tejedor-Flores N. Comparison of Environmental Impact Assessment Methods in the Assembly and Operation of Photovoltaic Power Plants: A Systematic Review in the Castilla—La Mancha Region. (2023). LAPSE:2023.15166
Author Affiliations
Zarzavilla M: Grupo de Investigación en Energética y Confort en Edificaciones Bioclimáticas (ECEB), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad Tecnológica de Panama, Panama City 0801, Panama [ORCID]
Quintero A: Grupo de Investigación en Energética y Confort en Edificaciones Bioclimáticas (ECEB), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad Tecnológica de Panama, Panama City 0801, Panama
Abellán MA: Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos de Albacete, Universidad Castilla-La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain
Serrano FL: Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos de Albacete, Universidad Castilla-La Mancha, 02071 Albacete, Spain [ORCID]
Austin MC: Grupo de Investigación en Energética y Confort en Edificaciones Bioclimáticas (ECEB), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad Tecnológica de Panama, Panama City 0801, Panama; Centro de Estudios Multidisciplinarios en Ciencias, Ingeniería y Tec [ORCID]
Tejedor-Flores N: Grupo de Investigación en Energética y Confort en Edificaciones Bioclimáticas (ECEB), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad Tecnológica de Panama, Panama City 0801, Panama; Centro de Estudios Multidisciplinarios en Ciencias, Ingeniería y Tec [ORCID]
Journal Name
Energies
Volume
15
Issue
5
First Page
1926
Year
2022
Publication Date
2022-03-07
Published Version
ISSN
1996-1073
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PII: en15051926, Publication Type: Journal Article
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doi:10.3390/en15051926
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