ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Figure from article: Comparative Life-Cycle...
 
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ABSTRACT
Utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is rapidly expanding under Vision 2030, bringing the total commissioned and under-construction capacity to over 4 GW. This study evaluated the life-cycle carbon emissions of largescale crystalline-silicon PV systems in Saudi Arabia, comparing polycrystalline and monocrystalline panels in projects exceeding 200 MW. Representative plants included Sakaka (300 MW, Al Jouf), Sudair (1,500 MW, Riyadh Province), Jeddah (300 MW), and Shuaibah (2,060 MW), reflecting current international supply chains with upstream silicon production concentrated in China and cell and module assembly occurring across Southeast Asian hubs. The life-cycle assessment (LCA) followed the ISO 14040/14044 principles and International Energy Agency (IEA) PV Power Systems (PVPS) Task 12 guidelines, applying a cradle-to-gate-plus-use boundary covering raw material extraction, wafer and cell processing, module assembly, balance-of-system components, transportation, installation, and operation. Life-cycle-inventory data were obtained from the IEA PVPS Task 12 consensus inventory and cross-validated against recent peer-reviewed and National Renewable Energy Laboratory-maintained utility-scale LCA literature. Energy yield was estimated using RETScreen Expert for NEOM, Riyadh, and Jeddah, representing distinct climatic zones. The results indicate that monocrystalline systems exhibit marginally higher embodied emissions per unit of installed capacity than those of polycrystalline systems, whereas the yield-normalized carbon intensity is comparable within each location. Higher electricity generation at NEOM and Jeddah resulted in lower life-cycle greenhouse gas intensities, indicating that the location effect is greater than the technology effect. These findings support evidence-based PV technology selection and deployment for low-carbon electricity generation in Saudi Arabia.
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