Linking Solar Energy with Waste Management; Photovoltaics vs. biomass. The case of Vienna

Abstract

The primary objective of this study is to formulate a comparison between photovoltaic and biomass systems, as two renewable options capable of harvesting the energy in sunlight in order to contribute to addressing today's growing electricity demand. This assessment will integrate MFA techniques as a means to identify and examine the qualities and quantities of solid wastes that are produced from photovoltaic appliances and biomass combustion within a case study for the city of Vienna, Austria. As a secondary aim, this paper attempts to evaluate the more advantageous technology in terms of resource efficiency and to offer a rough estimation as to the total material turnover involved in each of the selected systems. The results indicate that for the production of one functional unit of electricity, biomass combustion is the less resource-efficient option, since it involves the use of a significantly higher amount of solid materials. Unless recycling is included, the quantities of waste produced by the biomass system show a threefold increase in relation to the photovoltaic. However, overburden taken into account, the photovoltaic alternative was found to produce an amount of waste double to that of biomass combustion. Calculations have proven that the total material being turned over by each system differ considerably.