Abstract
Rapid population growth has exacerbated problems surrounding natural
resource consumption, and environmental concerns have deteriorated in
various parts of the world. Energy generation accounts for a significant
share of overall greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. As a
result, eliminating pollution from energy-generating is a viable and
significant research topic in academia. It is essential to begin
exploring alternatives to traditional electricity plant-based generation
that use coal, oil, or natural gas as a source of raw materials. The
development of alternative power sources is becoming a focal point of
the electricity-generating business over the last few decades. In this
review, Wind power, Solar panels, Biogas as well as fuel cells are
examples of mature modern energy generation systems today. Among these,
photovoltaic panels seem to be the most widely accepted and practical
technology for usage in both residential as well as commercial
buildings. The capability of photovoltaic panels in the US has already
surpassed 14 GW in 2014. By 2030, the solar energy sector hopes to
generate 10% of the nation’s maximum amount of electricity. Systems
using photovoltaic panels have become a new method to produce
electricity. An abundant, limitless, cheap, and clean energy source is
solar radiation. Because they use solar energy, solar panels are
regarded as a clean and environmentally friendly method to produce
electricity. Even though photovoltaic panels produce essentially no
pollution (or) greenhouse gas emissions during operation, they do have
an influence on the environment during the manufacturing and end-of-life
processes. While these impurities are treated improperly and without
safeguards in the recovery portion of the manufacturing process and then
discharged into the environment, they constitute serious pollution
risks. Researchers in Europe and Japan frequently use the term
“Eco-balance” instead of “LCA”, but the two terms have nearly
identical meanings. Along with the LCA approach from 1993, this package
also includes goal and scope definition, life-cycle inventories,
life-cycle impact assessments, and life-cycle improvement analyses. ”LCA
is the examination and evaluation of a product system’s inputs, outputs,
as well as potential environmental implications for its life cycle.
Limitations of Life Cycle Assessment as well as the importance of LCA
study are also discussed in this review. A case study of the Lake Street
Garage in Fort Collins, Colorado is also included in this research.
According to the findings of the LCA study, a solar power system has
some benefits in terms of lowering greenhouse gas emissions and gaseous
toxic releases. On the other side, traditional power plants generate
less toxic waste than solar panel systems. The Lake Street Parking
Garage’s solar panel system on its roof will not be able to recoup its
expenses throughout its 25-year lifespan, according to the LCC result.