Applying life cycle assessment to investigate the environmental impacts of a PV–CSP hybrid system

Photovoltaic and concentrated solar power (PV–CSP) hybrid systems have effectively solved the issues with the volatility and energy storage costs of PV electricity generation, and they have the potential to replace PV generation. However, the environmental impacts of PV–CSP have not been reported in the literature. In this research, a life cycle assessment method was adopted to investigate the potential environmental impacts of the PV–CSP hybrid system. The results showed that throughout the life cycle, the manufacturing stage had the largest adverse impact on the energy conservation and emission reduction targets of China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (ECER-135), whereas the decommissioning stage significantly alleviated the environment burden through the recovery of main materials. Compared to standalone PV or CSP, the PV–CSP hybrid system exhibits significant comparative advantages, with carbon emissions and greenhouse gas emissions measuring 42 g CO2 and 45.92 g CO2 eq, respectively. During the manufacturing stage, PV modules, PV balance of system, solar field, and thermal energy storage system contributed significantly to the environmental impact. The sensitivities of different inventory materials in environmental indicators were different, and the same material had different sensitivities in different subsystems or stages.