Integral ecology approach to life cycle assessment of solar arrays

Abstract

In this article, a novel approach to life cycle assessment (LCA) is introduced, termed “integral ecology life cycle assessment”. At the most fundamental level, integral ecology LCA is a life cycle study that simultaneously considers all the dimensions of how humanity exists within the natural environment, using the broadest possible lens to determine the ecological impacts of a technological design/product. Currently, most industry practitioners use ISO 14040, an LCA standard that was introduced in 1997 and republished in revised form in 2006. The present integral ecology LCA concept is brought forward as a contribution to the decades long tradition of openly discussing the ways in which LCA practices can evolve and improve. In addition to offering differences in vision and scope, integral ecology LCA also provides new insights by intentionally examining simple foundational questions, handling data unavailability and uncertainty pragmatically rather than scientifically, and honoring value-choices. Recognizing that practical limitations make it impossible to provide a full methodological basis for evaluating every aspect of an integral ecology LCA, the article focuses on introducing the integral ecology LCA concept and selectively utilizes illustrative examples for a ∼1 MW scale photovoltaic solar array. For instance, since a MW scale array occupies several acres, the basic concept of separation vs. integration is shown to be important. Plants, animals, and humans are often separated from solar arrays rather than integrated, which unnecessarily compounds concerns over land use, so different models are favored by integral ecology LCA. Additionally, material sourcing for sizable projects can present an important value-choice, and an integral ecology examination of thin film solar modules yields a meaningfully different ecological profile than typical crystalline silicon (c-Si) modules, while also highlighting the use of the precautionary principle.