As global climate change is becoming a more pervasive issue, the environmental impact of electricity production is once again in the spotlight. In the context of global climate change it is critical to focus on shifting towards more sustainable electricity production methods, which meet the electricity demand without contributing significantly to the environmental footprint. Using photovoltaic (PV) systems as an alternative to conventional grid electricity is one potential option, which is beneficial as it is less resource intensive during the use phase than conventional electricity sources. However, environmental impacts are still generated during the raw materials and manufacturing life cycle phases of the PV. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental payback period (EPBP) were used to quantify the time it takes to recoup the environmental impacts due to production of solar PV compared to the environmental impacts of the current electricity grid. An EPBP analysis of all 50 states in the United States was performed to evaluate changes due to differences in solar potential, electricity mix, and impact category. The goal of this paper is to compare how the deployment of solar panels would change if environmental payback prioritization was considered compared to simply considering solar intensity.

随着全球气候变化日益普遍，电力生产对环境的影响再次成为人们关注的焦点。在全球气候变化的背景下，至关重要的是集中精力转向更加可持续的电力生产方法，这些方法既可以满足电力需求，又不会对环境造成重大影响。使用光伏（PV）系统替代常规电网电力是一种潜在的选择，这是有益的，因为与常规电源相比，它在使用阶段的资源消耗较少。但是，在PV的原材料和制造生命周期阶段仍会产生环境影响。与当前电网的环境影响相比，使用生命周期评估（LCA）和环境投资回收期（EPBP）来量化弥补太阳能光伏发电对环境的影响所需的时间。对美国所有50个州进行了EPBP分析，以评估由于太阳势，电力结构和影响类别的差异而引起的变化。本文的目的是与单纯考虑太阳能强度相比，比较在考虑了环境投资优先级的情况下太阳能电池板的部署将如何变化。和影响类别。本文的目的是与单纯考虑太阳能强度相比，比较在考虑了环境投资优先级的情况下太阳能电池板的部署将如何变化。和影响类别。本文的目的是与单纯考虑太阳能强度相比，比较在考虑了环境投资优先级的情况下太阳能电池板的部署将如何变化。