Published in Scientific Papers. Series E. Land Reclamation, Earth Observation & Surveying, Environmental Engineering, Vol. XIII
Written by Mihaita Nicolae ARDELEANU, Emil Mihail DIACONU, Otilia NEDELCU, Sorin IONITESCU
The carbon footprint is inherent in any production process, even more so in the case of the production of batteries for the storage of electrical energy. The structure of the photovoltaic (PV) energy system determines the initial investment and, with it, the way of exploitation of the storage elements is outlined. The idea of reducing the investment usually determines an intensive exploitation of the batteries, which leads to the shortening of their exploitation period and implicitly their replacement with new ones. In addition to the problem of fitting the new batteries to the group of existing ones, it goes without saying that their purchase involves another manufacturing exercise that inherently requires a new carbon footprint. By optimizing the way batteries are used, their life is extended up to double, which means that the environmental impact of the production process is halved. The simulation exercise carried out, based on the concrete data provided by the specialized literature and the data of the LIFEPO4 battery manufacturers, demonstrated that it is possible to reduce the mentioned carbon footprint through an optimal structuring of the PV system starting from the very initial investment.
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