讲解 SOLA5051 2025 LCA Report 2讲解 留学生Python程序

SOLA5051 2025

LCA Report 2

1   Overview

One of the learning outcomes for this course is to undertake life cycle assessment (LCA) studies compliant with the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards for renewable energy systems. This assessment will allow you to engage with the entire process of conducting a real LCA by following the four stages of the LCA framework while collaborating in a group.

In LCA Report 2, your goal and scope have been pre-determined. Each group (4 people) must then collect their data to conduct this LCA.

2   Background

Lesley Energy, known for its expertise in commercial rooftop solar, is currently expanding its horizon by bidding to develop PV systems in carparks for EV charging across New South Wales. The company has engaged your LCA consulting firm to undertake a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment on a  particular  project  they   have  developed   at  UNSW  to  provide  key  information  on  the environmental impacts of the electricity generation. The aim is to confirm that the environmental impacts of electricity from PV systems are within reasonable limits, and also to establish baseline for comparison with electricity from the grid and other renewable energy alternatives. The audience is Lesley Energy, Lesley Energy’s stakeholders (potential customers who is interested in installing PV-EV charging stations) and the general public.

The goal and scope for this LCA are pre-determined by Lesley Energy to meet the requirements in the tender. Still, you will have to describe all the assumptions made in your LCA.

3   Pre-determined Goal and Scope

The goal of this LCA is to assess the environmental impacts of the 70.4 kW SUNPARK solar photovoltaic system installed on the rooftop of the Botany Street car park at UNSW Kensington campus. Lesley energy has provided the technical report of this system. You can find it on Moodle.

Figure 1 UNSW solar powered electric vehicle charging stations.

The  reason for this work  is to  confirm the environmental  impacts of this  PV  system  is within reasonable limits and establish a baseline for comparison with electricity from the grid and electricity generated from other renewable energy technologies in Australia.

The LCA results will be presented to Lesley Energy stakeholders and the general public. Therefore, your consultancy team will need to submit an LCA report to Lesley Energy sustainability experts with results presenting in midpoint impact categories; and an LCA factsheet to be distributed to the general public with results presenting in endpoint impact categories.

The reference flow is the electricity generated by this PV system during the 25-year operational lifetime, and the functional unit is  1kWh of AC electricity generated. This PV system began operation in 2021. The solar panels use bifacial monocrystalline silicon module technology with double glass and aluminium frame. The system diagram and boundaries of the LCA are presented in Figure 1.

Figure 2: LCA system boundaries.

You should justify your constraints/assumptions if not provided by Lesley Energy, for example, the model and manufacturing location of solar panels, inverters, transportation method, etc.

The LCA results should be calculated using the OpenLCA software and the Ecoinvent database. The impact assessment should be carried out using the Hierarchist perspective.

Please note that your analysis should focus exclusive on the electricity produced by the PV system. There is no need to analyse the end-use of electricity or scenarios where electricity is sourced from the grid. Your focus should remain strictly on the PV system itself.

4   System boundaries and bonus marks

While the tendering process does not explicitly mandate the inclusion of the system's end-of-life phase, an extension of the system boundary to cover this aspect would be viewed favourably. Lesley Energy is aware of uncertainties in actual energy yield and components lifetime, and is willing to provide a  10 bonus marks for the inclusion of uncertainty analysis of these factors using Monte Carlo analysis.

The report will be marked as the following:

1.   Baseline:  If  your group decides to conduct a cradle-to-gate assessment,  i.e. from  raw materials to plant operation as shown in Figure 1, your report mark will be capped at 90/100.

2.   Inclusion of end-of-life: If your group decides to conduct a cradle-to-grave assessment, i.e. including the end-of-life phase, your report’s maximum achievable mark would be 100/100. Warning:  Dealing  with  recycling  loops  is  challenging,  and   if  recycling   is  conducted incorrectly, it can significantly affect the results of your product system and result in lower marks of the whole report. Groups should take that into consideration before attempting a cradle-to-grave assessment.

3.   Inclusion of Monte Carlo analysis. If your group decide to conduct Monte Carlo analysis for uncertainties in energy yield and components lifetime, you are entitled to get a maximum of 10 bonus points.

Maximum marks:

•    Baseline: 90/100.

•    Baseline + end-of-life: 100/100.

•    Baseline + Monte Carlo: 100/100.

•    Baseline + end-of-life + Monte Carlo: 110/100.

5   Part 1 - Assumptions

Clearly define the goal, scope, functional unit, reference flow, and system boundaries of your LCA study. Based on the goal and scope provided, each group must list a set of assumptions , including: data  collection  method, data  quality goals, technological specifications  of the  module  and the inverter (e.g., efficiency, performance ratio, manufacturer, location of manufacturing …), allocations,

etc.

6   Part 2 - Life Cycle Inventory Analysis

Provide a summary table of the key components used in the PV system, such as solar panels specifications, inverter specifications, installation schedules, and other component specifications. For  each   component,   indicate  the   data   source   (e.g.   manufacturer  datasheets,   literature, assumptions) used to collect the relevant information (i.e., you can’t make up information).

For the life cycle inventory, list of all flows involved in your system boundaries, such as energy, raw materials, processed materials, wastes, emissions, etc. This can be presented in the form of a table or in a diagram included in your system boundaries. The full inventory data table must be attached in the appendix.

Explain the calculation procedures used to derive the inventory data. Analyse the quality of your data  according to  appropriate  indicators, such as  reliability,  temporal  correlation, geographical correlation, and technological correlation.

If you choose to include the end-of-life, please include all your end-of-life assumptions, including the decommissioning plan (which components will be recycled), transportation, and recycling yield of different materials.

7   Part 3 - Life Cycle Impact Assessment

Present the results obtained from your LCIA in graphical format. For the report, present the results for all selected  midpoint  impact categories.  For the factsheet,  present the  results for all three endpoint impact categories.

You can select your own characterization model and indicators , and provide a justification for your choices. The final graphs should clearly display all selected impact categories along with their appropriate equivalency units. Remember to ensure that all results presented are directly related to the functional unit defined in the pre-determined Goal and Scope.

Please include the model graph of the product system from OpenLCA.

8   Part 4 - Interpretation

Your document must contain the following sections in your interpretation:

1.   Identification of significant issues

-    Dominant life cycle stages: individual unit processes that have the most impacts on the system analysed.

-    Dominant inventory data categories & flows: energy, emissions, waste, etc.

-    Dominant impact categories: resource use, global warming, etc.

2.   Evaluation - Checking quality

-    Completeness check: ensure that all relevant information and data are available and complete

-    Perturbation analysis: assess the reliability of the final results and conclusions

-    Consistency  check:  determine  whether  the  assumptions,  methods  and  data  are consistent with the goal and scope

-    (Optional) If you choose to incorporate Monte Carlo analysis, provide details on the methodology used. Note this must be conducted in Python or excel, other Monte Carlo analysis methods will not be marked. Present the normalised uncertainties, identify which factor (energy yield, inverter lifetime, or panel lifetime) has the highest impact. Interpret the LCA results with the uncertainty range. We consider three key uncertainties:

i.   Energy yield (±10% compared to the forecast value) due to uncertainties in weather conditions and panel degradation.

ii.   Inverter lifetime (± 2 years).

iii.   Panel lifetime (± 5 years).

3.   Answer the following questions:

Choose either 1-a or 1-b to attempt, not both.

1-a)  From an  LCA  perspective,  how do the environmental  impacts of the electricity produced by the PV system compare to the electricity sourced from the grid? Please provide a quantitative comparison, especially for climate change impacts.

1-b)  From an  LCA perspective,  How do the environmental impacts of the electricity produced by the PV system compare to other renewable energy systems?

2) What are the key environmental hotspots of this PV system? Please provide at least two recommendations for designing PV systems with lower environmental impacts based on your analysis.

3) Quantify the potential reductions your recommendations in question 2 could achieve. Explain the method or assumptions used to quantify the reduction potential.

4) If you choose to include the end-of-life, Compare the environmental impact of end-of- life recycling with other life cycle stages (e.g., manufacturing). Then, recommend how Lesley Energy should approach decommissioning and recycling of their PV systems.

4.   Conclusion:  Key  findings,  limitations,  conclusion  and  recommendations  based  on  your analysis (at least one paragraph to address each of these).

9   Submission

As a team, you will submit two documents (merged into one pdf) to Lesley Energy:

1.   A written report of your completed LCA (25%). The report length should be 20-40 pages plus  references and an  appendix  containing the full  inventory data table  and technical specifications. The total page number should not exceed 80 pages.

2.   A factsheet (5%) containing graphical results of all three endpoint impact categories of your completed LCA and educational information to be distributed to the public. The factsheet length should be 1 to 4 pages.

Your writing should be professional in style with academic referencing. IEEE reference style is recommended. Your report should be compliant with ISO14040 and ISO14044 standards.

Only one member needs to make the submission on Moodle.

10 Marking

The detailed marking rubric for LCA Report 2 can be found on Moodle.

Reports without the end-of-life phase in the system boundary will be marked out of 90%.

Reports including the end-of-life phase in the system boundary will be marked out of 100%.

Reports with Monte Carlo analysis can get up to 10 points bonus mark.

Once the group is submitted, you will have a chance to confidentially assess the contributions of your team members using the team evaluation tool in Moodle. Your final mark will be adjusted up to 50%, depending on your level of contribution to the team.

Your overall mark cannot exceed 100% after addressing the bonus mark and team evaluation.