{"title":"An Environmental-Economic Analysis of a Case Solar Power Plant for Power Decarbonization","authors":"Seyedeh Hosna Talebian, Hossein Balouchi, Danial Esazadeh, Mahsa Abbasi, Hamidreza Azizi","doi":"10.1002/ese3.70112","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>On the path to achieving net-zero emissions targets by 2050 and meeting the increasing electricity demand, investigations on the carbon intensity of electricity is of interest as an important decision-making parameter in decarbonizing the power sector and replacing nonrenewable power plants in regions of low rainfall and limited water resources to enhance the transparency of policies toward net-zero transition. In this context, the potential of solar photovoltaics (PV) has been highlighted in recent years due to their low-emission intensity compared to other renewable sources, highly regarded economic prospects, and unprecedented global growth of installations. Considering Iran's power crisis in terms of the mismatch between production and consumption and a worsening of the environment due to high-carbon power, this paper presents the assessment of the environmental and economic viability of a 10 MW on-grid solar PV plant to improve energy security and sustainability. First, the carbon intensity (CI) and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of electricity generated in the power industry in Iran in comparison with the global status is discussed. Then, the environmental aspects of different types of PV inverter modulus and panels are assessed by utilizing the life cycle assessment approach, to select the optimum design in terms of CI. Finally, the economic scenarios are analyzed in terms of LCOE and the sensitivity analysis on the availability factor. The combined environmental-economic assessment results of the case solar power plant with CI of 63.9 tCO<sub>2</sub>/GWh and LCOE of 11 $/MWh offers deep insights into the financial and environmental performance of solar PVs in the country's sustainable development roadmap and highlights the importance of regulatory policies, absorbing green climate funds, and investment in the expansion of solar systems to enable the decarbonization of electricity as an important measure for sustainable development.</p>","PeriodicalId":11673,"journal":{"name":"Energy Science & Engineering","volume":"13 7","pages":"3541-3550"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ese3.70112","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Energy Science & Engineering","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ese3.70112","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENERGY & FUELS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
On the path to achieving net-zero emissions targets by 2050 and meeting the increasing electricity demand, investigations on the carbon intensity of electricity is of interest as an important decision-making parameter in decarbonizing the power sector and replacing nonrenewable power plants in regions of low rainfall and limited water resources to enhance the transparency of policies toward net-zero transition. In this context, the potential of solar photovoltaics (PV) has been highlighted in recent years due to their low-emission intensity compared to other renewable sources, highly regarded economic prospects, and unprecedented global growth of installations. Considering Iran's power crisis in terms of the mismatch between production and consumption and a worsening of the environment due to high-carbon power, this paper presents the assessment of the environmental and economic viability of a 10 MW on-grid solar PV plant to improve energy security and sustainability. First, the carbon intensity (CI) and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of electricity generated in the power industry in Iran in comparison with the global status is discussed. Then, the environmental aspects of different types of PV inverter modulus and panels are assessed by utilizing the life cycle assessment approach, to select the optimum design in terms of CI. Finally, the economic scenarios are analyzed in terms of LCOE and the sensitivity analysis on the availability factor. The combined environmental-economic assessment results of the case solar power plant with CI of 63.9 tCO2/GWh and LCOE of 11 $/MWh offers deep insights into the financial and environmental performance of solar PVs in the country's sustainable development roadmap and highlights the importance of regulatory policies, absorbing green climate funds, and investment in the expansion of solar systems to enable the decarbonization of electricity as an important measure for sustainable development.
期刊介绍：
Energy Science & Engineering is a peer reviewed, open access journal dedicated to fundamental and applied research on energy and supply and use. Published as a co-operative venture of Wiley and SCI (Society of Chemical Industry), the journal offers authors a fast route to publication and the ability to share their research with the widest possible audience of scientists, professionals and other interested people across the globe. Securing an affordable and low carbon energy supply is a critical challenge of the 21st century and the solutions will require collaboration between scientists and engineers worldwide. This new journal aims to facilitate collaboration and spark innovation in energy research and development. Due to the importance of this topic to society and economic development the journal will give priority to quality research papers that are accessible to a broad readership and discuss sustainable, state-of-the art approaches to shaping the future of energy. This multidisciplinary journal will appeal to all researchers and professionals working in any area of energy in academia, industry or government, including scientists, engineers, consultants, policy-makers, government officials, economists and corporate organisations.
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