
It is a well-known fact that PSCs tend to decompose after being exposed to external factors such as heat, light, humidity, and oxygen, which is mostly a result of the intrinsic structural instability of absorber layers . For example, Niu et al. have probed the decomposition behavior of methyl lead ammonium iodide. . During the operation of solar cells under the sunlight, their temperature can go beyond 45 °C. For PSCs to be true competitor with silicon-based solar cells, long-term stability at 85 °C. . The effect of temperatures on the morphologies of the perovskite layer is essential to assess device performance in different environmental conditions. For example, the work of. . A systematic study by Foley et al. have illustrated that valence band maximum and conduction band minimum of CH3NH3PbI3 shifted. . In high-efficiency PSCs, gold (Au) and silver (Ag) are the most commonly used electrodes. Despite high costs, both show degradation as a result of. [pdf]
Over the last years, many authors have presented analysis on the life cycle assessment of perovskite solar cells with consideration of a particular structure/design where a fixed set of materials and processes are selected to fabricate the solar cell.
Upscaling from Lab to Fab in Life Cycle Assessment Evaluating the environmental sustainability of perovskite solar cells (PSC) as an emerging functional material (FunMat) requires upscaling scenarios to assess environmental impacts adequately and detect possible risks before commercialization.
Moreover, the range for impacts also presents an opportunity to optimize perovskite solar modules keeping LCA indicators as one of the objective functions in order to exploit their potential of having significantly lower environmental impacts.
This review aims to present the life cycle assessment and sustainability of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells while focusing on their criticality. Aligned with UN SDG 7 for affordable and clean energy, it promotes renewable development for a more sustainable PV technology for the future. 1. Introduction
Li et al. conducted a detailed cost analysis of two types of perovskite-based tandem modules (perovskite/Si and perovskite/perovskite tandems) with standard c-Si solar cells and single-junction perovskite solar cells. They found that if the lifetime of the module is comparable to that of c-Si solar cells, tandem cells were competitive in the LCOE.
Previous life cycle assessment (LCA) studies on perovskite tandems investigated specific tandem stacks, but only considered limited impact categories (8, 21 – 23) because of the incomplete high-quality life cycle inventory (LCI) datasets in existing databases, and do not consider scalability and industry-compatibility issues.

The growth of solar power industries worldwide has been rapidly accelerated by the growth of the solar market in China. Chinese-produced photovoltaic cells have made the construction of new solar power projects much cheaper than in previous years. Domestic solar projects have also been heavily subsidized by the Chinese government, allowing for China's solar energy capacity to dramatically soar. As a result, they have become the leading country for solar energy, passing G. [pdf]
By 2024 China is building 30 Concentrated Solar Power Projects as part of gigawatt-scale renewable energy complexes in each province, appropriately reflecting the urgency and scale needed for climate action
The robust backing and financial support from the Chinese government for solar energy development underscore a model that many developing nations can emulate: fostering solar-friendly policies, emphasizing economic incentives, and exploring diverse terrains for PV deployments, harmonizing the balance between land resources and energy needs.
While most PV projects in China are land-based due to solar energy's dispersed nature, there's an increasing focus on maximizing ‘water’ resources like oceans, lakes, reservoirs, and subsidence zones to improve land use efficiency .
The government incentives have also contributed to the curtailment of solar energy, as many of the solar projects have been built in northern and western regions of China where there is a low demand for electricity and a lack of infrastructure to transfer energy towards China's main power grid.
Most of China's solar power is generated within its western provinces and is transferred to other regions of the country. In 2011, China owned the largest solar power plant in the world at the time, the Huanghe Hydropower Golmud Solar Park, which had a photovoltaic capacity of 200 MW.
As such, critics argue that investments into renewable energy sources such as solar power are means to increase the power of the central state rather than protect the environment. This argument has been complemented by China's expansion of fossil fuel plants in conjunction with solar energy.

Photovoltaic research in China began in 1958 with the development of China's first piece of . Research continued with the development of solar cells for space satellites in 1968. The Institute of Semiconductors of the led this research for a year, stopping after batteries failed to operate. Other research institutions continued the developm. Chinese scientists have announced a plan to build an enormous, 0.6 mile (1 kilometer) wide solar power station in space that will beam continuous energy back to Earth via microwaves. [pdf]
Of the total global solar PV capacity, 35.45% is in China. Listed below are the five largest active solar PV power plants by capacity in China, according to GlobalData’s power plants database. GlobalData uses proprietary data and analytics to provide a complete picture of the global solar PV power segment.
In the first nine months of 2017, China saw 43 GW of solar energy installed in the first nine months of the year and saw a total of 52.8 GW of solar energy installed for the entire year. 2017 is currently the year with the largest addition of solar energy capacity in China.
Most of China's solar power is generated within its western provinces and is transferred to other regions of the country. In 2011, China owned the largest solar power plant in the world at the time, the Huanghe Hydropower Golmud Solar Park, which had a photovoltaic capacity of 200 MW.
In 2020, China saw an increase in annual solar energy installations with 48.4 GW of solar energy capacity being added, accounting for 3.5% of China's energy capacity that year. 2020 is currently the year with the second-largest addition of solar energy capacity in China's history.
As of at least 2024, China has one third of the world's installed solar panel capacity. Most of China's solar power is generated within its western provinces and is transferred to other regions of the country.
China added almost twice as much utility-scale solar and wind power capacity in 2023 than in any other year. By the first quarter of 2024, China’s total utility-scale solar and wind capacity reached 758 GW, though data from China Electricity Council put the total capacity, including distributed solar, at 1,120 GW.
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