Comparing the carbon footprint of monocrystalline silicon solar modules manufactured in China and the United States

This work discusses the life-cycle impact of manufacturing silicon monocrystalline (c-Si) (PV) panels in the United States compared to China. We compare the results using country average and regional data accounting for the location of each manufacturing stage. The carbon footprint based on the national average for the USA is 515 g CO
2
/kWp compared to 740 g CO
2
/kWp for China. Producing c-Si modules in China from US polysilicon reduces the carbon footprint by 9.5% compared to Chinese modules. Manufacturing modules entirely in the US modules could reduce the carbon footprint by 30%. PV modules supply chain is in regions with slower decarbonization than the rest of the country for both US and China, slowing down the reduction in carbon footprint for c-Si in the future.