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Dr. Vasilis Fthenakis
Center for Life Cycle Analysis, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA

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0 Desalination
0 Fluid Dynamics
0 Solar Energy
0 life cycle analysis
0 Renewable energy penetration in the grid

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Journal article
Published: 20 August 2021 in Energies
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California has set two ambitious targets aimed at achieving a high level of decarbonization in the coming decades, namely (i) to generate 60% and 100% of its electricity using renewable energy (RE) technologies, respectively, by 2030 and by 2045, and (ii) introducing at least 5 million zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2030, as a first step towards all new vehicles being ZEVs by 2035. In addition, in California, photovoltaics (PVs) coupled with lithium-ion battery (LIB) storage and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are, respectively, the most promising candidates for new RE installations and new ZEVs, respectively. However, concerns have been voiced about how meeting both targets at the same time could potentially negatively affect the electricity grid’s stability, and hence also its overall energy and carbon performance. This paper addresses those concerns by presenting a thorough life-cycle carbon emission and energy analysis based on an original grid balancing model that uses a combination of historical hourly dispatch and demand data and future projections of hourly demand for BEV charging. Five different scenarios are assessed, and the results unequivocally indicate that a future 80% RE grid mix in California is not only able to cope with the increased demand caused by BEVs, but it can do so with low carbon emissions (<110 g CO2-eq/kWh) and satisfactory net energy returns (EROIPE-eq = 12–16).

ACS Style

Marco Raugei; Alessio Peluso; Enrica Leccisi; Vasilis Fthenakis. Life-Cycle Carbon Emissions and Energy Implications of High Penetration of Photovoltaics and Electric Vehicles in California. Energies 2021, 14, 5165 .

AMA Style

Marco Raugei, Alessio Peluso, Enrica Leccisi, Vasilis Fthenakis. Life-Cycle Carbon Emissions and Energy Implications of High Penetration of Photovoltaics and Electric Vehicles in California. Energies. 2021; 14 (16):5165.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marco Raugei; Alessio Peluso; Enrica Leccisi; Vasilis Fthenakis. 2021. "Life-Cycle Carbon Emissions and Energy Implications of High Penetration of Photovoltaics and Electric Vehicles in California." Energies 14, no. 16: 5165.

Research article
Published: 01 July 2021 in Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications
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Perovskite photovoltaics reached record efficiencies in the laboratory, and if sustainably commercialized, they would accelerate a green energy transition. This article presents the development of life cycle inventory material and energy databases of four most promising single-junction and three tandem scalable perovskite systems with assumptions regarding scalable production validated by industry experts. We conducted comprehensive “ex ante” life cycle analysis (LCA) and net energy analysis, analyzing their cumulative energy demand, global warming potential profiles, energy payback times, and energy return on investment (EROI). LCA contribution analysis elucidates the most impactful material and process choices. It shows that solution-based perovskite manufacturing would have lower environmental impact than vapor-based methods, and that roll-to-roll (RtR) printing offers the lowest impact. Among material choices, MoOx/Al has lower impact than Ag, and fluorine-tin-oxide lower than indium-tin-oxide. Furthermore, we compare perovskites with commercial crystalline-silicon and thin-film PV, accounting for the most recent developments in crystalline-Si wafer production and differences in life expectancies and efficiencies. It is shown that perovskite systems produced with RtR manufacturing could reach in only 12 years of life, the same EROI as that of single-crystalline-Si PV lasting 30 years. This work lays a foundation for sustainability investigations of perovskite large-scale deployment.

ACS Style

Enrica Leccisi; Vasilis Fthenakis. Life cycle energy demand and carbon emissions of scalable single‐junction and tandem perovskite PV. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Enrica Leccisi, Vasilis Fthenakis. Life cycle energy demand and carbon emissions of scalable single‐junction and tandem perovskite PV. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications. 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Enrica Leccisi; Vasilis Fthenakis. 2021. "Life cycle energy demand and carbon emissions of scalable single‐junction and tandem perovskite PV." Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 07 April 2021 in Desalination
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While mechanical vapor compression is typically applied for the concentration of brine, new approaches that are less costly and less energy intensive are needed to facilitate minimal and zero liquid discharge. Several variations of reverse osmosis for high-salinity desalination and increasing recovery rates beyond the pressure limitation of conventional RO have been proposed in the literature. The promise of these enhanced RO approaches entails a reduction in energy consumption when compared with thermal desalination methods. In this paper, low-salt rejection reverse osmosis (LSRRO), cascading osmotically mediated reverse osmosis (COMRO), and osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (OARO) were comparatively assessed via module-scale, cost optimization models to gain an accurate perspective of the performance differences between each of these configurations. We quantified the optimal levelized cost of water (LCOW) of each technology for the case of desalinating feedwater at 70 g/L at 75% recovery, which would result in a brine concentration near 250 g/L, a level that allows further treatment with crystallizers. For baseline scenarios, LCOW results for LSRRO, COMRO, and OARO were 6.63, 7.90, and 5.14 $/m3 of product water, respectively, while the corresponding specific energy consumption (SEC) values were 28.9, 12.8, and 10.3 kWh/m3. A sensitivity analysis is also presented.

ACS Style

Adam A. Atia; Ngai Yin Yip; Vasilis Fthenakis. Pathways for minimal and zero liquid discharge with enhanced reverse osmosis technologies: Module-scale modeling and techno-economic assessment. Desalination 2021, 509, 115069 .

AMA Style

Adam A. Atia, Ngai Yin Yip, Vasilis Fthenakis. Pathways for minimal and zero liquid discharge with enhanced reverse osmosis technologies: Module-scale modeling and techno-economic assessment. Desalination. 2021; 509 ():115069.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Adam A. Atia; Ngai Yin Yip; Vasilis Fthenakis. 2021. "Pathways for minimal and zero liquid discharge with enhanced reverse osmosis technologies: Module-scale modeling and techno-economic assessment." Desalination 509, no. : 115069.

Journal article
Published: 01 August 2020 in Energies
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This paper presents a detailed life-cycle assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions, cumulative demand for total and non-renewable primary energy, and energy return on investment (EROI) for the domestic electricity grid mix in the U.S. state of California, using hourly historical data for 2018, and future projections of increased solar photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity with lithium-ion battery energy storage, so as to achieve 80% net renewable electricity generation in 2030, while ensuring the hourly matching of the supply and demand profiles at all times. Specifically—in line with California’s plans that aim to increase the renewable energy share into the electric grid—in this study, PV installed capacity is assumed to reach 43.7 GW in 2030, resulting of 52% of the 2030 domestic electricity generation. In the modelled 2030 scenario, single-cycle gas turbines and nuclear plants are completely phased out, while combined-cycle gas turbine output is reduced by 30% compared to 2018. Results indicate that 25% of renewable electricity ends up being routed into storage, while 2.8% is curtailed. Results also show that such energy transition strategy would be effective at curbing California’s domestic electricity grid mix carbon emissions by 50%, and reducing demand for non-renewable primary energy by 66%, while also achieving a 10% increase in overall EROI (in terms of electricity output per unit of investment).

ACS Style

Marco Raugei; Alessio Peluso; Enrica Leccisi; Vasilis Fthenakis. Life-Cycle Carbon Emissions and Energy Return on Investment for 80% Domestic Renewable Electricity with Battery Storage in California (U.S.A.). Energies 2020, 13, 3934 .

AMA Style

Marco Raugei, Alessio Peluso, Enrica Leccisi, Vasilis Fthenakis. Life-Cycle Carbon Emissions and Energy Return on Investment for 80% Domestic Renewable Electricity with Battery Storage in California (U.S.A.). Energies. 2020; 13 (15):3934.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marco Raugei; Alessio Peluso; Enrica Leccisi; Vasilis Fthenakis. 2020. "Life-Cycle Carbon Emissions and Energy Return on Investment for 80% Domestic Renewable Electricity with Battery Storage in California (U.S.A.)." Energies 13, no. 15: 3934.

Journal article
Published: 17 July 2020 in Applied Energy
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This paper examines and quantifies the evolution of the uncertainty in forecasting solar- and wind-based electricity generation compensated with hydroelectric power, based on the forecast uncertainties of the three constituents. We used the generalized martingale model of forecast evolution to separately describe the uncertainties of power outputs of wind and photovoltaic systems in the same region. We then superimposed the separate power outputs to obtain the combined power output from these variable renewable energies (VRE). Furthermore, we developed a stochastic recourse model for optimally scheduling hydropower dispatch to compensate VRE and meet scheduled power demands. We applied the new model to hourly performance data obtained from photovoltaic, wind, and hydropower plants with power outputs of 3.1 GW, 2.7 GW, and 3.3 GW, respectively, in the Yalong River Basin in China. Based on the variance of hourly power outputs during spring days with different weather patterns, we found that the uncertainty of the forecasted combined power output of wind and photovoltaic systems is 46% less than that of the forecasted wind power output, and approximately 2% greater than that of the forecasted photovoltaic power output. After hydropower compensated for the power shortage in the combined VRE power output, the uncertainty of meeting prescheduled hourly demand during each of the considered days was reduced by 90%, compared with that without hydropower compensation. When the forecasts were updated dynamically, the uncertainties of the forecasts of the separate power outputs, of the combined power output, and of the power shortage decreased substantially. Thus, the approach proposed in this study offers a scheduling plan for hydropower compensation of VRE on a daily time scale and can also be used to evaluate the risk of power shortage.

ACS Style

Weifeng Liu; Feilin Zhu; Tongtiegang Zhao; Hao Wang; Xiaohui Lei; Ping-An Zhong; Vasilis Fthenakis. Optimal stochastic scheduling of hydropower-based compensation for combined wind and photovoltaic power outputs. Applied Energy 2020, 276, 115501 .

AMA Style

Weifeng Liu, Feilin Zhu, Tongtiegang Zhao, Hao Wang, Xiaohui Lei, Ping-An Zhong, Vasilis Fthenakis. Optimal stochastic scheduling of hydropower-based compensation for combined wind and photovoltaic power outputs. Applied Energy. 2020; 276 ():115501.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Weifeng Liu; Feilin Zhu; Tongtiegang Zhao; Hao Wang; Xiaohui Lei; Ping-An Zhong; Vasilis Fthenakis. 2020. "Optimal stochastic scheduling of hydropower-based compensation for combined wind and photovoltaic power outputs." Applied Energy 276, no. : 115501.

Journal article
Published: 01 April 2020 in Progress in Energy
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ACS Style

Veera Gnaneswar Gude; Vasilis Fthenakis. Energy efficiency and renewable energy utilization in desalination systems. Progress in Energy 2020, 2, 022003 .

AMA Style

Veera Gnaneswar Gude, Vasilis Fthenakis. Energy efficiency and renewable energy utilization in desalination systems. Progress in Energy. 2020; 2 (2):022003.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Veera Gnaneswar Gude; Vasilis Fthenakis. 2020. "Energy efficiency and renewable energy utilization in desalination systems." Progress in Energy 2, no. 2: 022003.

Accepted manuscript
Published: 10 March 2020 in Progress in Energy
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For new technologies, such as perovskite solar cells (PSC), life cycle analysis (LCA) offers a fundamental framework for examining potential environmental, energy and health impacts and mitigation options before large-scale commercialization and for guiding improvements in development and production that further reduce their environmental footprint. However, credible LCA studies require actual process-based material, energy and emissions data, which may not exist before the technologies are commercially produced. Thus, the perovskite LCA literature is based on linear extrapolations of laboratory data. In this paper we critically reviewed the PSC LCA literature, explain the reasoning for a wide divergence of results, and determined which data apply to scalable industrial production, materials and processes. Our investigation probed into the formulation of each layer of a PSC device, and its potential for industrial scale fabrication. We found that electricity use is the main contributor to reported LCA results, explaining the large difference, ranging from 7.78 kWh to 1,460 kWh/m2, among various studies. Subsequently, we identified and discuss methodological errors in some of these estimates. In terms of life-cycle toxicity most of the reviewed LCA studies do not attribute any major overall toxicity impact to the presence of lead in the PSC devices. We also reviewed and critiqued studies describing "worst-case" scenarios of accidental release of lead into the environment, and, in spite of statements in those studies, we found them to be inconclusive. Finally, we discussed end-of-life (EoL) management options for resource recovery and for minimizing environmental impacts.

ACS Style

Enrica Leccisi; Vasilis Fthenakis. Life-cycle environmental impacts of single-junction and tandem perovskite PVs: a critical review and future perspectives. Progress in Energy 2020, 2, 032002 .

AMA Style

Enrica Leccisi, Vasilis Fthenakis. Life-cycle environmental impacts of single-junction and tandem perovskite PVs: a critical review and future perspectives. Progress in Energy. 2020; 2 (3):032002.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Enrica Leccisi; Vasilis Fthenakis. 2020. "Life-cycle environmental impacts of single-junction and tandem perovskite PVs: a critical review and future perspectives." Progress in Energy 2, no. 3: 032002.

Journal article
Published: 03 March 2020 in Energies
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Operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, and associated uncertainty, for wind turbines (WTs) is a significant burden for wind farm operators. Many wind turbine failures are unpredictable while causing loss of energy production, and may also cause loss of asset. This study utilized 753 O&M event data from 21 wind turbines operating in Germany, to improve the prediction of failure frequency and associated costs. We applied Bayesian updating to predict wind turbine failure frequency and time-to-repair (TTR), in conjunction to machine learning techniques for assessing costs associated with failures. We found that time-to-failure (TTF), time-to-repair and the cost of failures depend on operational and environmental conditions. High elevation (>100 m) of the wind turbine installation was found to increase both the probability of failures and probability of delayed repairs. Furthermore, it was determined that direct-drive turbines are more favorable at locations with high capacity factor (more than 40%) whereas geared-drive turbines show lower failure costs than direct-drive ones at temperate-coastal locations with medium capacity factors (between 20% and 40%). Based on these findings, we developed a decision support tool that can guide a site-specific selection of wind turbine types, while providing a thorough estimation of O&M budgets.

ACS Style

Samet Ozturk; Vasilis Fthenakis. Predicting Frequency, Time-To-Repair and Costs of Wind Turbine Failures. Energies 2020, 13, 1149 .

AMA Style

Samet Ozturk, Vasilis Fthenakis. Predicting Frequency, Time-To-Repair and Costs of Wind Turbine Failures. Energies. 2020; 13 (5):1149.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Samet Ozturk; Vasilis Fthenakis. 2020. "Predicting Frequency, Time-To-Repair and Costs of Wind Turbine Failures." Energies 13, no. 5: 1149.

Full paper
Published: 17 January 2020 in Energy Technology
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Renewable electricity generation is intermittent and its large‐scale deployment will require some degree of energy storage. Although best assessed at grid level, the incremental energy and environmental impacts of adding the required energy storage capacity may also be calculated specifically for each individual technology. This paper deals with the latter issue for the case of photovoltaics (PV) complemented by lithium‐ion battery (LIB) storage. A life cycle assessment (LCA) of a 100MW ground‐mounted PV system with 60MW of (lithium‐manganese oxide) LIB, under a range of irradiation and storage scenarios, show that energy pay‐back time and life‐cycle global warming potential increase by 7% to 30% (depending on storage duration scenarios), with respect to those of PV without storage. Thus the benefits of PV when displacing conventional thermal electricity (in terms of carbon emissions and energy renewability) are only marginally affected by the addition of energy storage. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

ACS Style

Marco Raugei; Enrica Leccisi; Vasilis M. Fthenakis. What Are the Energy and Environmental Impacts of Adding Battery Storage to Photovoltaics? A Generalized Life Cycle Assessment. Energy Technology 2020, 8, 1 .

AMA Style

Marco Raugei, Enrica Leccisi, Vasilis M. Fthenakis. What Are the Energy and Environmental Impacts of Adding Battery Storage to Photovoltaics? A Generalized Life Cycle Assessment. Energy Technology. 2020; 8 (11):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marco Raugei; Enrica Leccisi; Vasilis M. Fthenakis. 2020. "What Are the Energy and Environmental Impacts of Adding Battery Storage to Photovoltaics? A Generalized Life Cycle Assessment." Energy Technology 8, no. 11: 1.

Journal article
Published: 23 July 2019 in Desalination
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The proposed active-salinity-control reverse osmosis (ASCRO) system dynamically controls energy consumption by operating across a range of feed salinity, allowing it to shift over a wide range of pump feed flows and pressures. ASCRO utilizes feedwater from both low- and high-salinity sources. Enabling a dynamic power consumption profile can enhance demand-response capabilities, compensating for stressors on the grid. Moreover, ASCRO can improve the integration of renewable energy (RE) by responding to power fluctuations without compromising permeate production. This system can include on-site RE and energy storage to power the ASCRO plant and provide services to the grid. We considered the following grid-connected scenarios: 1) ASCRO, 2) ASCRO and battery storage, 3) ASCRO and photovoltaics (PV), and 4) ASCRO, battery storage, and PV. The levelized cost of water (LCOW) was minimized by providing load-shifting and regulation capacity services in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) market. We quantified that the ASCRO plant can ramp from minimum to maximum load within 84 s, which is adequate for participation in fast-timescale markets. The LCOW for these scenarios ranged from 49 to 59 cents/m3. We also present sensitivity analyses showing the effects of capital cost, CAISO market prices, and PV size on LCOW.

ACS Style

Adam A. Atia; Vasilis Fthenakis. Active-salinity-control reverse osmosis desalination as a flexible load resource. Desalination 2019, 468, 114062 .

AMA Style

Adam A. Atia, Vasilis Fthenakis. Active-salinity-control reverse osmosis desalination as a flexible load resource. Desalination. 2019; 468 ():114062.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Adam A. Atia; Vasilis Fthenakis. 2019. "Active-salinity-control reverse osmosis desalination as a flexible load resource." Desalination 468, no. : 114062.

Review article
Published: 15 January 2019 in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
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The increased use of wood as a heating fuel in residential and small commercial buildings has increased concern about potential environmental and safety impacts, specifically particulate matter (PM) emissions in the nanometer range. Larger particles (> 2.5 µm) can be effectively removed from exhaust streams by emission control devices. However, nanoparticles (NP), due to their size, are more difficult to capture in exhaust flue gases. In addition, NPs have a higher surface to volume ratio, allowing them to absorb organic compounds, causing them to be more reactive than their larger counterparts. This review focuses on the NPs produced from residential wood heating devices. Current emission regulations do not reflect the NP count or type produced from residential wood combustion, although most published studies show that a significant portion of the particles produced during combustion is in the nano-size range. Fuel type, device type and combustion periods have all shown to impact, at various degrees, the NPs produced. Contrary to common expectations, it appears that modern units may generate a higher count of NPs, although emitting less particulate mass than older units. This investigation supports arguments of needed particle type and count regulations in addition to the current mass based emission regulations. In addition to a critical review and analysis, recommendations are made regarding future testing, monitoring and environmental impact studies that address the significance of NP emissions.

ACS Style

Rebecca Trojanowski; Vasilis Fthenakis. Nanoparticle emissions from residential wood combustion: A critical literature review, characterization, and recommendations. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2019, 103, 515 -528.

AMA Style

Rebecca Trojanowski, Vasilis Fthenakis. Nanoparticle emissions from residential wood combustion: A critical literature review, characterization, and recommendations. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2019; 103 ():515-528.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rebecca Trojanowski; Vasilis Fthenakis. 2019. "Nanoparticle emissions from residential wood combustion: A critical literature review, characterization, and recommendations." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 103, no. : 515-528.

Journal article
Published: 05 November 2018 in Energies
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The failure of wind turbines is a multi-faceted problem and its monetary impact is often unpredictable. In this study, we present a novel application of survival analysis on wind turbine reliability, including accounting for previous failures and the history of scheduled maintenance. We investigated the operational, climatic and geographical factors that affect wind turbine failure and modeled the risk rate of wind turbine failure based on data from 109 turbines in Germany operating for a period of 19 years. Our analysis showed that adequately scheduled maintenance can increase the survival of wind turbine systems and electric subsystems up to 2.8 and 3.8 times, respectively, compared to the systems without scheduled maintenance. Geared-drive wind turbines and their electrical systems were observed to have 1.2- and 1.4- times higher survival, respectively, compared to direct-drive turbines and their electrical systems. It was also found that the survival of frequently-failing wind turbine components, such as switches, was worse in geared-drive than in direct-drive wind turbines. We show that survival analysis is a useful tool to guide the reduction of the operating and maintenance costs of wind turbines.

ACS Style

Samet Ozturk; Vasilis Fthenakis; Stefan Faulstich. Assessing the Factors Impacting on the Reliability of Wind Turbines via Survival Analysis—A Case Study. Energies 2018, 11, 3034 .

AMA Style

Samet Ozturk, Vasilis Fthenakis, Stefan Faulstich. Assessing the Factors Impacting on the Reliability of Wind Turbines via Survival Analysis—A Case Study. Energies. 2018; 11 (11):3034.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Samet Ozturk; Vasilis Fthenakis; Stefan Faulstich. 2018. "Assessing the Factors Impacting on the Reliability of Wind Turbines via Survival Analysis—A Case Study." Energies 11, no. 11: 3034.

Journal article
Published: 25 October 2018 in Energy
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Lead halide perovskites (LHP) are an emerging class of photovoltaic (PV) materials that have drawn intense interest due to their power conversion efficiencies above 23% and their potential for low-cost fabrication. However, the toxicity of lead causes concern about its use in LHP-PV at large scales. Here, we quantified lead utilization and toxicity potential of LHP-PV in potential commercial production. Lead intensity in LHP-PV life cycles can be 4 times lower and potential toxic emissions can be 20 times lower than those in representative U.S. electricity mixes, assuming that PV operational lifetimes reach 20 years. We introduce the metric “toxicity potential payback time”, accounting for toxic emissions in the life cycle of energy cycles, and showed that it is < 2 years for perovskite PVs produced by and displacing the same grid mix. The toxicity potential associated with the energy of manufacturing a PV system dominates that associated with release of embodied lead. Therefore, the use of lead should not preclude commercialization of LHP-PVs. Instead, effort should focus on development of low-energy manufacturing processes and long service lifetimes. Additional detailed investigations are needed to quantify the full life cycle of commercial production of perovskites and to minimize potential emissions.

ACS Style

Pieter Billen; Enrica Leccisi; Subham Dastidar; Siming Li; Liliana Lobaton; Sabrina Spatari; Aaron T. Fafarman; Vasilis M. Fthenakis; Jason B. Baxter. Comparative evaluation of lead emissions and toxicity potential in the life cycle of lead halide perovskite photovoltaics. Energy 2018, 166, 1089 -1096.

AMA Style

Pieter Billen, Enrica Leccisi, Subham Dastidar, Siming Li, Liliana Lobaton, Sabrina Spatari, Aaron T. Fafarman, Vasilis M. Fthenakis, Jason B. Baxter. Comparative evaluation of lead emissions and toxicity potential in the life cycle of lead halide perovskite photovoltaics. Energy. 2018; 166 ():1089-1096.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Pieter Billen; Enrica Leccisi; Subham Dastidar; Siming Li; Liliana Lobaton; Sabrina Spatari; Aaron T. Fafarman; Vasilis M. Fthenakis; Jason B. Baxter. 2018. "Comparative evaluation of lead emissions and toxicity potential in the life cycle of lead halide perovskite photovoltaics." Energy 166, no. : 1089-1096.

Journal article
Published: 10 August 2018 in Energy
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Chile is one of the fastest-growing economies in Latin America, with a mainly fossil fuelled electricity demand and a population projected to surpass 20 million by 2035. Chile is undergoing a transition to renewable energies due to ambitious national targets, namely to generate 60% of its electricity from local renewable energy by 2035, and to achieve a 45%renewable energy share for all new electric installed capacity. In this work, we present a comprehensive energy analysis of the electricity generation technologies currently deployed in Chile. Then, we analyse potential future scenarios, considering a large deployment of RE, mainly PV and wind, to replace coal-fired electricity. The life cycle assessment (LCA) and net energy analysis (NEA) methods are applied in parallel to provide complementary indicators, respectively nr-CED and EROI, and identify weak spots and future opportunities. Special focus is given to the effect on EROI of transporting fossil fuels to Chile. Results show that a large deployment of PV and wind can significantly improve the overall net energy performance of electricity generation in Chile, while leading to an electricity supply mix that is >60% less reliant on non-renewable energy.

ACS Style

Marco Raugei; Enrica Leccisi; Vasilis Fthenakis; Rodrigo Escobar Moragas; Yeliz Simsek. Net energy analysis and life cycle energy assessment of electricity supply in Chile: Present status and future scenarios. Energy 2018, 162, 659 -668.

AMA Style

Marco Raugei, Enrica Leccisi, Vasilis Fthenakis, Rodrigo Escobar Moragas, Yeliz Simsek. Net energy analysis and life cycle energy assessment of electricity supply in Chile: Present status and future scenarios. Energy. 2018; 162 ():659-668.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marco Raugei; Enrica Leccisi; Vasilis Fthenakis; Rodrigo Escobar Moragas; Yeliz Simsek. 2018. "Net energy analysis and life cycle energy assessment of electricity supply in Chile: Present status and future scenarios." Energy 162, no. : 659-668.

Journal article
Published: 08 August 2016 in Energies
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Given photovoltaics’ (PVs) constant improvements in terms of material usage and energy efficiency, this paper provides a timely update on their life-cycle energy and environmental performance. Single-crystalline Si (sc-Si), multi-crystalline Si (mc-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) systems are analysed, considering the actual country of production and adapting the input electricity mix accordingly. Energy pay-back time (EPBT) results for fixed-tilt ground mounted installations range from 0.5 years for CdTe PV at high-irradiation (2300 kWh/(m2·yr)) to 2.8 years for sc-Si PV at low-irradiation (1000 kWh/(m2·yr)), with corresponding quality-adjusted energy return on investment (EROIPE-eq) values ranging from over 60 to ~10. Global warming potential (GWP) per kWhel averages out at ~30 g(CO2-eq), with lower values (down to ~10 g) for CdTe PV at high irradiation, and up to ~80 g for Chinese sc-Si PV at low irradiation. In general, results point to CdTe PV as the best performing technology from an environmental life-cycle perspective, also showing a remarkable improvement for current production modules in comparison with previous generations. Finally, we determined that one-axis tracking installations can improve the environmental profile of PV systems by approximately 10% for most impact metrics.

ACS Style

Enrica Leccisi; Marco Raugei; Vasilis Fthenakis. The Energy and Environmental Performance of Ground-Mounted Photovoltaic Systems—A Timely Update. Energies 2016, 9, 622 .

AMA Style

Enrica Leccisi, Marco Raugei, Vasilis Fthenakis. The Energy and Environmental Performance of Ground-Mounted Photovoltaic Systems—A Timely Update. Energies. 2016; 9 (8):622.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Enrica Leccisi; Marco Raugei; Vasilis Fthenakis. 2016. "The Energy and Environmental Performance of Ground-Mounted Photovoltaic Systems—A Timely Update." Energies 9, no. 8: 622.

Review article
Published: 30 September 2011 in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
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Twenty states plus the District of Columbia now have renewable portfolio standards (RPS) in place that requires a certain percentage of energy to come from renewable sources by a specific year. With renewable energy on the verge of massive growth, much research emphasis is put on enabling the implementation of these technologies. This paper presents a novel method of site selection for wind turbine farms in New York State, based on a spatial cost–revenue optimization. The algorithm used for this is built in ESRI ArcGIS Desktop 9.3.1 software and consists of three stages. The first stage excludes sites that are infeasible for wind turbine farms, based on land use and geological constraints. The second stage identifies the best feasible sites based on the expected net present value from four major cost and revenue categories that are spatially dependent: revenue from generated electricity, costs from access roads, power lines and land clearing. The third stage assesses the ecological impacts on bird and their habitats. The proposed spatial multi-criteria methodology is then implemented in New York State and the results were compared with the locations of existing wind turbine farms. The wind farm site selection tool presented in this paper provides insights into the most feasible sites for a large geographic area based on user inputs, and can assist the planning of wind developers, utilities, ISO's and State governments in attaining renewable portfolio standards.

ACS Style

Rob van Haaren; Vasilis Fthenakis. GIS-based wind farm site selection using spatial multi-criteria analysis (SMCA): Evaluating the case for New York State. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2011, 15, 3332 -3340.

AMA Style

Rob van Haaren, Vasilis Fthenakis. GIS-based wind farm site selection using spatial multi-criteria analysis (SMCA): Evaluating the case for New York State. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2011; 15 (7):3332-3340.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rob van Haaren; Vasilis Fthenakis. 2011. "GIS-based wind farm site selection using spatial multi-criteria analysis (SMCA): Evaluating the case for New York State." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15, no. 7: 3332-3340.

Conference paper
Published: 01 January 2007 in MRS Proceedings
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Life cycle analysis becomes especially important for characterizing new material forms in new energy generation technologies intended to replace or improve the current infrastructure of energy production. We propose a comparative life-cycle analysis framework for investigating the effect of introducing nanotechnology in the life cycle of new photovoltaics, which focuses on the differences between the new technologies and the ones that they may replace. The following parameters are investigated within this framework: methods of synthesizing nanoparticles, physicochemical specifications of the precursors, material utilization rates, deposition rates, energy-conversion efficiencies, and lifetime expectancy of the final product. We introduce the application of this framework in comparing nano-structured cadmium telluride and silicon films with their nano- and amorphous- structured equivalents.

ACS Style

Hyung Chul Kim; V. Fthenakis; S. Gualtero; R. van der Meulen. Comparative Life-cycle Analysis of Photovoltaics Based on Nano-materials: A Proposed Framework. MRS Proceedings 2007, 1041, 1 .

AMA Style

Hyung Chul Kim, V. Fthenakis, S. Gualtero, R. van der Meulen. Comparative Life-cycle Analysis of Photovoltaics Based on Nano-materials: A Proposed Framework. MRS Proceedings. 2007; 1041 ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hyung Chul Kim; V. Fthenakis; S. Gualtero; R. van der Meulen. 2007. "Comparative Life-cycle Analysis of Photovoltaics Based on Nano-materials: A Proposed Framework." MRS Proceedings 1041, no. : 1.

Conference paper
Published: 01 January 2007 in MRS Proceedings
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We investigate the area of land used and/or transformed during conventional (i.e., coal, natural gas and nuclear), and renewable fuel cycles (i.e., photovoltaics, wind, biomass, and geothermal). Both direct and indirect land use/transformation are examined in a life cycle framework. For average US insolation, the photovoltaic fuel cycle disturbs the least amount of land per GWh among renewable options, requiring less area than the coal fuel cycle. Renewable technologies could harvest infinite amount of energy per unit area and eliminates the need for restoring disturbed mine lands. Further investigations would be necessary for secondary and accidental land disturbance by conventional fuel cycles through transport of effluents and emissions to adjacent land.

ACS Style

Hyung Chul Kim; Vasilis Fthenakis. The Fuel Cycles of Electricity Generation: A Comparison of Land Use. MRS Proceedings 2007, 1041, 1 .

AMA Style

Hyung Chul Kim, Vasilis Fthenakis. The Fuel Cycles of Electricity Generation: A Comparison of Land Use. MRS Proceedings. 2007; 1041 ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hyung Chul Kim; Vasilis Fthenakis. 2007. "The Fuel Cycles of Electricity Generation: A Comparison of Land Use." MRS Proceedings 1041, no. : 1.