Solar farm Haghorst, located in North Brabant, is one of many large-scale photovoltaic projects in the Netherlands. The farm, which consists of more than 75.000 solar panels, delivers a peak power of 42 MWp. This allows for an average annual generation of 37 million kWh of electricity, which is enough to provide over 6.000 all-electric homes with sustainable energy every year.
Large-scale solar projects, such as the farm in Haghorst, play a crucial role in decarbonizing the Dutch electricity grid. The renewable electricity generated by solar panels reduces the demand for fossil fuel combustion in conventional power plants, such as gas-fired power plants. As a result, the total CO2 emissions associated with electricity generation will decrease.
Life cycle assessment of renewable energy
Before a solar park can begin supplying sustainable energy, several processes must take place, each with its own environmental impact. First, the materials needed for solar panels must be extracted and manufactured. This includes silicon for the solar cells, as well as metals like aluminium and steel for the frames. The extraction and processing of these raw materials consume significant amounts of energy and often result in greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.
Once the solar panels and other components are produced, the solar farm needs to be constructed. This involves the use of heavy machinery such as excavators and trucks, which typically run on fossil fuels. These vehicles release CO2 and other pollutants into the air while also altering the landscape, potentially impacting local biodiversity.
Meewind, an investment company that focuses on sustainable energy projects, is one of the main investors in the solar farm in Haghorst. To better understand how the benefits of a solar park outweigh the environmental impacts mentioned above, Meewind asked us to conduct a life cycle assessment (LCA). This LCA focuses on determining the "Global Warming Potential" (GWP) of the solar park in Haghorst. The GWP is an expression of the contribution that the project makes to climate change, expressed in CO2 equivalents (CO2e).
Scope of the study
The aim of the LCA for solar park Haghorst was to get a clear picture of the total CO2e emissions over the life cycle of the solar park, and to identify which materials and processes make the largest contribution to the GWP. Therefore, the study covered the entire lifespan of the park, which is expected to be 25 years.
Activities such as component production, transportation, construction work, maintenance, and waste disposal are all part of the scope of the LCA study. In addition to the production of the solar panels and its frames, relevant components such as inverters, transformers, substations and cabling was also examined. The operational energy consumption of farm (including its inverters), and the energy losses occurring during the distribution of the generated electricity, have also been taken into account.
Avoided CO2e impacts
Our LCA showed that Haghorst solar farm generates electricity with much lower CO2e impacts compared to the average electricity mix in the Netherlands. This mix is currently still largely dependent on fossil fuels, resulting in an average GWP of 300-400 grams of CO2e per kWh generated. Based on the LCA study, it is estimated that the GWP in Haghorst is only 25 grams of CO2e per kWh generated. The electricity generated in Haghorst can therefore avoid an average of between 275-375 grams of CO2e per kWh generated.
Using these avoided emissions, a "CO2e payback period" can be calculated. This CO2e period is the time in which the CO2e emissions caused by the production, transport, installation and maintenance of the solar park are compensated by the avoided emissions. In the case of Haghorst, it has been estimated that the CO2e payback period is between 2 and 3 years. This means that after this period, the avoided emissions are greater than the initial CO2e impact of the solar park, resulting in a net positive contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases.
It is important to emphasise that our calculation of the CO2e payback period is based on a comparison with the average Dutch electricity mix. The avoided emissions depend heavily on the energy sources that are assumed to be replaced by the solar panels: replacing fossil fuels such as coal leads to greater CO2e savings than replacing a mix with a large share of renewable energy. In addition, the electricity mix is constantly changing due to technological advancements and policy decisions, which means that the avoided emissions will fluctuate over the lifetime of the solar panels. The CO2e payback period is therefore a relatively complex concept and must be interpreted with a certain level of caution.
Life cycle impacts of a solar park
If we zoom in on the specific parts of the installation, we see that most of the CO2e emissions during the life cycle result from the production of the solar panels. Solar panels contribute as much as 60% to the total Global Warming Potential of the project’s life cycle. This is mainly due to the production of silicon cells for the solar panels, which is an extremely energy-intensive process.
The production of the transmission cables (12%) and the framing (9%) also make up a significant part of the life cycle CO2e impacts. After the production phase, the waste treatment phase is the largest contributor to the total GWP, with a share of 9%.
Given the large impacts associated with the production of the solar panels, it is advised to purchase sustainably produced solar panels with a relatively low CO2e impact. Additionally, it is recommended to ensure the longest possible lifespan, in order to avoid unnecessary replacement of solar panels.
Sustainable energy systems
In conclusion, the life cycle analysis of Zonnepark Haghorst shows that large-scale solar energy projects can play an important role in the transition to a more sustainable energy supply. Although the production and construction of a solar park are associated with CO2e emissions, these can be compensated for by the avoided emissions within 2-3 years. From this moment on, the solar park will make a net positive contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases. This underlines the importance of a long-term commitment to solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and achieve climate goals.