Greenhouse emissions of PV fires
Emissions from fires in photovoltaic (PV) panels are estimated to be 100x lower than those from PV panel manufacture. Based on fire statistics for PV panels and estimations of emissions during the fire, fire extinction and replacement of damaged panels and parts of buildings, greenhouse emissions from PV panel fires are estimated at 0.3 gCO2-equ/kWh of electricity produced (over the panel’s life). This can be compared to around 44 gCO2-equ/kWh greenhouse emissions over a panel’s normal lifetime (mainly from manufacturing, little impact from panel disposal/recycling, zero emissions from use) and to 480 gCO2-equ/kWh for average electricity production globally. PV fires are estimated to occur at 0.03 fires / year / MV installed PV (Ong et al., see pinfa Newsletter 143). Buildings are estimated to be damaged or destroyed in over 40% of PV fires.
“Greenhouse gas emissions related to fires in photovoltaic installations”, R. Stølen, Int. J. Ambient Energy 2024, vol. 45, no. 1, 2367734, https://doi.org/10.1080/01430750.2024.2367734
