Twenty-first International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

The world is focusing on a global climate action plan based on the COP28 target. This paper discusses three major challenges associated with ambitious growth in solar energy: net energy availability, a significant ecological footprint, and mineral resource constraints. In the context of COP 28’s target, necessitating an annual growth of 17% in renewable energy, our study suggests a critical growth rate of 20% beyond which, a solar PV program becomes an energy sink! Hence, an ambitious growth rate of solar energy will hurt net energy output, resulting in a reduced GDP. The life cycle ecological footprint of rooftop solar electricity generation is calculated as 1.49 × 10−5 gha per kWh, significantly lower than the ecological footprint of grid electricity in India. However, a very large-scale solar program would result in a significant ecological footprint, along with a shortage of critical materials essential for solar technology. This study points out opportunities for effective solar energy utilization through decentralized systems using a ‘prosumer’ approach, to reduce grid electricity demand. Such opportunities are highlighted as a solar PV plant-assisted air cooling system with an annual generation of 65 tCO2 emissions with the grid supply alternative contributing approximately 928 tCO2 emissions. Further, in the food industry study, the ecological footprint reduction associated with rooftop solar PV systems is quantified at 90.87 gha compared to grid electricity. In conclusion, this paper highlights the prospective challenges with large utility-scale solar power, while pointing out feasible opportunities in decentralized solar energy use with multiple advantages.