Photovoltaics: state-of-knowledge survey of environmental, health and safety aspects

Technical Report · Tue Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1982

OSTI ID:6610813

The environmental, health and safety issues are addressed that have been identified for various photovoltaic technologies/materials, and the results of recent research into specific areas of concern are summarized. A distinction is made between those concerns common to all PV technologies and those specific to a single technology or application. The photovoltaic-energy-system life cycle is conveniently described in terms of four stages: raw-material collection and refining; component manufacture; system installation and operation; and decommissioning and disposal. Research to date has addressed selected issues in each stage of the system life cycle. These include the acquisition and/or application of toxic materials required in certain cell technologies, specific manufacturing processes or process scales, and the environmental effects of large, centralized systems.

• Research Organization: Mueller Associates, Inc., Baltimore, MD (USA); Jet Propulsion Lab., Pasadena, CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC01-81EV10450
• OSTI ID: 6610813
• Report Number(s): DOE/EV/10450-T2; ON: DE83005068
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140400 -- Solar Energy-- Environmental Aspects
140501* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Photovoltaic Conversion
140600 -- Solar Energy-- Photovoltaic Power Systems
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
299001 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Solar-- (1989-)
CADMIUM SULFIDE SOLAR CELLS
DECOMMISSIONING
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
DOCUMENT TYPES
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
EQUIPMENT
GALLIUM ARSENIDE SOLAR CELLS
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
INSTALLATION
MANUFACTURING
MATERIALS
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
OPERATION
PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER SUPPLIES
POWER SUPPLIES
PROCESSING
RAW MATERIALS
REFINING
REGULATIONS
REVIEWS
SAFETY
SILICON SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
TOXICITY