Cradle-to-Grave Life Cycle Assessment of a Commercial Rooftop PV System with Complete BOS in West Africa: ReCiPe-Based LCA Using OpenLCA

The study assesses the life cycle of a commercial rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system of capacity 77 kW among other attributes in West Africa. The study follows ISO 14040/14044 guidelines, and integrates detailed PVsyst simulation data with robust modeling using OpenLCA software and the Ecoinvent database. The integration of the above data is meant to evaluate impacts through the ReCiPe midpoint method. This paper is novel in that it is data-driven with real operational parameters and component-level breakdowns that will finely map and quantify environmental burdens. The results are unequivocal about PV module manufacturing being the overwhelming environmental hotspot source impacting on a category of effects such as climate change (89%), terrestrial acidification (69%), photochemical oxidant formation (80%), water use (96%), and cumulative eco-human toxicity (79%). Some of the secondary impacts were inverter manufacturing and maritime transportation and underscore the importance of sourcing strategies and cleaner logistics. The results point to the immediate need for lifecycle-oriented procurement strategies, such as selection of low-impact suppliers for modules, extension of inverter lives, and cleaner shipping preferences. Such information towards grounding practical pathways of minimizing the overall environmental footprint of PV electricity user systems would further considerably improve the sustainability and appropriateness of these systems in regard to regional ethical decarbonization objectives.