Life Cycle Carbon Footprint Assessment of Renewable Energy Technologies Across Different Geographic Regions

With the technologies accelerating the shift towards renewable energy in many countries around the world, it is important to understand that the impacts of these technologies are not only during operations. The electricity produced by solar panels, wind turbines, and biomass systems, have relatively small greenhouse gas emissions, but emissions are generated during raw material extraction, manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance, and disposal.

The present research evaluates the life cycle carbon footprints of solar PV, wind and biomass energy systems across various geographical locations. The study is done using Life Cycle Assessment ( LCA) method that quantifies Green House Gas ( GHG) emissions throughout the life cycle of a technology, from its beginning to its end of life. The results show that wind energy has the lowest life cycle emissions (738 gCO₂e/kWh) and solar PV the next lowest (20100 gCO₂e/kWh). Biomass systems tend to have a higher emission level due to varying approaches to the production of biomass feedstock.

The study also highlights the significant impact of factors such as regional energy mix, manufacturing processes, availability of resources, and supply chain characteristics on environmental performance. The results underscore the need of policy makers and industry actors to include geographic and supply chain aspects in renewable energy deployment planning to maximize climate benefits.

The presentation will cover the following topics: Introduction to LCA and CF, Renewable Energy, Solar PV, Wind Energy, Biomass Energy, Geographical variations and Sustainable Energy Transition.