Environmental and Economic Impact Assessments of a Photovoltaic Rooftop System in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

The shift toward renewable energy resources, and photovoltaic systems specifically, has gained a huge focus in the past two decades. This study aimed to assess several environmental and economic impacts of a photovoltaic system that installed on the rooftop of an industrial facility in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The life cycle assessment method was employed to study all the flows and evaluate the environmental impacts, while several economic indicators were calculated to assess the feasibility and profitability of this photovoltaic system. The results showed that the production processes contributed the most to the environmental impacts, where the total primary energy demand was 1152 MWh for the whole photovoltaic system, the total global warming potential was 6.83 × 10–2 kg CO2-eq, the energy payback time was 2.15 years, the carbon dioxide payback time was 1.87 years, the acidification potential was 2.87 × 10–4 kg SO2-eq, eutrophication potential was 2.45 × 10–5 kg PO43-eq, the ozone layer depletion potential was 4.685 × 10–9 kgCFC-11-eq, the photochemical ozone creation potential was 3.81 × 10–5 kg C2H4-eq, and the human toxicity potential was 2.38 × 10–2 kg1,4-DB-eq for the defined function unit of the photovoltaic system, while the economic impact indicators for the whole system resulted in a 3.5 year payback period, the benefit to cost ratio of 11.8, and 0.142 AED/kWh levelized cost of electricity. This was the first study to comprehensively consider all of these impact indicators together. These findings are beneficial inputs for policy- and decision-makers, photovoltaic panel manufacturers, and photovoltaic contractors to enhance the sustainability of their processes and improve the environment.