Evaluation of environmental impacts of a building-integrated photovoltaic system by the RIAM method Online publication date: Fri, 10-Mar-2023
by Gustavo Gonçalves; Raphael Abrahão
International Journal of Global Warming (IJGW), Vol. 29, No. 3, 2023
Abstract: Renewable energy sources are seen as solutions to climate change mitigation. Building-integrated photovoltaic systems attach components to the structure of the building. Using the rapid impact assessment matrix approach, this study attempted to identify and assess the environmental implications of a photovoltaic model sized to match a specific electrical consumption. In total, 14 different components and 22 environmental consequences were found. Of these, seven were in the physical/chemical category, 14 economic/operational, two social/cultural and one biological/ecological, being 33.3% +D, 16.8% -B, 12.5% -D, 4.2% +A, 8.3% +C, -C, +B and -A. The most significant positive effects were connected to local economic development, electrical supply security, and grid decarbonisation. Negative effects were linked to visibility of the original structure as well as worker safety concerns. The system itself is a solution to meet the electrical demand in places that face land use and occupation conflicts, due to its structure's integration.
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