CAREER: CAS-Climate: Sustainable Design Principles for Emerging Photovoltaics

该项目的总体目标是确定最具环境可持续性和经济可行性的方案，为能源市场准备新兴的光伏（EPV）技术，使其成为真正可持续的太阳能技术。这一目标将通过以下三个目标协同整合研究和教育相关任务来实现：(1)确定基于循环报废（EoL）选项的epv可持续设计原则，并利用EoL相关概念推进可持续教育；(2)分析南达科他州epv的使用和EoL阶段相关的环境影响和成本维度，推进高等教育中的太阳能教育；(3)评估epv新应用的环境经济模型，创建决策支持工具（EPV-Life工具），并通过举办研讨会传播研究成果。考虑到epv可以为太阳能产业创造一个重要的市场，epv的环境经济模型及其新应用对于告知光伏利益相关者关于环境、经济和社会可持续太阳能的途径至关重要。因此，该项目的社会效益包括抵消温室气体的方法和促进epv技术的有效教育机制。研究人员将根据翻新、再制造和回收（triple-r）原则设计EPV架构，而该技术仍部分处于研发阶段。设计triple-r的重点是确定设备架构，以实现环保和经济可行的EoL管理方案。研究者将评估由于灾难性事件和/或破损或处置不当，epv的使用和EoL阶段的生命周期毒性影响。因此，安装在铺砌（即屋顶）和未铺砌（即地面安装）表面上的光伏项目的使用阶段相关环境影响以及与不当倾倒有关的长期影响将得到更好的了解，并可以制定防止这些情况发生的战略。研究人员将使用平准化电力成本（LCOE）指标设计epv整个生命周期中涉及的所有过程，并明确侧重于评估三r选项的净成本，以最大限度地降低epv的净成本。将EoL集成到LCOE度量将允许用闭环方法全面开发epv。epv整个生命周期中涉及的所有过程及其新应用领域都将使用本项目分析的环境经济权衡来设计。主要重点将是评估用于城市/城郊部署的双面系统和用于农村/远程应用的EPV耦合电池系统。本项目的研究和教育目标结合在一起，侧重于五个更广泛的影响活动：1)培训研究生和本科生，2)与青年和家庭服务密切合作，向K-12学生提供服务，包括来自南达科他州西部服务不足、经济弱势和代表性不足的少数民族学生（例如，美洲原住民），3)与拉皮德城可持续发展委员会合作，向当地社区推广可持续太阳能，并告知他们住宅太阳能部署的好处。4)与太阳能产业和研究中心合作，加强研究和教育的基础设施；5)通过同行评审的出版物、国内和国际演讲、EPV- Life工具、团队的Twitter账户和YouTube视频，在更广泛的社区传播研究成果。本项目由英国环境与工业发展局环境可持续发展计划和促进竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The overarching goal of this project is to identify the most environmentally sustainable and economically feasible schemes to prepare emerging photovoltaic (EPV) technologies for the energy market as truly sustainable solar technology. This goal will be pursued by synergistically integrating research and education-associated tasks within three objectives: (1) identifying sustainable design principles for EPVs based on circular end-of-life (EoL) options and advancing sustainability education with EoL-related concepts; (2) analyzing the use and EoL phase-related environmental impacts and cost dimension of EPVs and advancing solar energy education in higher education in South Dakota, and; (3) assessing enviro-economic models for novel application of EPVs, creating decision support tools (EPV-Life tool), and disseminating the research results by offering workshops. Considering that EPVs can create an important market for the solar energy industry, enviro-economic models of EPVs and their novel applications are essential to inform PV stakeholders regarding the pathways for environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable solar energy. As a result, the societal benefits of this project include methods for offsetting greenhouse gases and facilitating an effective education mechanism for EPVs technology.The investigator will design the EPV architectures following refurbish, remanufacture, and recycle (triple-r) principles while this technology is still partially in the R&D stage. The focal point of design for triple-r is to determine device architecture that allows environmentally friendly and economically feasible EoL management schemes. The investigator will assess the life cycle toxic impacts from the use and EoL phase of EPVs due to a catastrophic event and/or breakage or improper disposal. As a result, the use phase-related environmental impacts of PV projects installed on paved (i.e., rooftops) and unpaved (i.e., ground-mounted) surfaces and long-term impacts related to improper dumping will be better understood, and strategies to prevent these from happening can be formulated. The investigator will design all processes involved in the entire life cycle of EPVs using the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) metric, with explicit focus on assessing the net cost of triple-r options that minimize the net cost of electricity from EPVs. Integration of EoL to the LCOE metric will allow for comprehensive development of EPVs with a closed-loop approach. All processes involved in the entire life cycle of EPVs and their novel application fields will be designed using enviro-economic tradeoffs analyzed in this project. A primary focus will be on assessing bifacial systems used in urban/ sub-urban deployment and EPV coupled battery systems in rural/remote applications. The research and educational goals of this project are integrated by focusing on five broader impacts activities: 1) Training graduate and undergraduate students, 2) working closely with Youth & Family Services to outreach to K-12 students, including minority students from the underserved, economically disadvantaged, and underrepresented (e.g., Native American) in western South Dakota, 3) working with Rapid City’s Sustainability Committee to outreach local communities to promote sustainable solar energy and inform them about residential solar deployment’s benefits, 4) partnering with the solar industry and research centers to enhance the infrastructure for research and education, and 5) disseminating research results broader communities with peer-reviewed publications, national and international presentations, and EPV- Life tool, and the team’s Twitter account and YouTube videos.This project is jointly funded by the ENG/CBET Environmental Sustainability program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.