Greenhouse gas mitigation potential of solar photovoltaics: a highly variable indicator within the European Union

Abstract Solar photovoltaic (PV) is a key technology for decarbonization. However, these systems cause an environmental impact along their life cycle. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigation from PV have been studied on a world level, with a yearly resolution, concluding that there are significant differences in decarbonization depending on where PV systems are deployed. This study explores the life-cycle GHG mitigation potential in the European Union countries with hourly resolution. The life-cycle GHG mitigation potential from PV can vary from 0.6 t CO 2 e kWp −1 in Sweden to 18.6 CO 2 e kWp −1 in Cyprus. Furthermore, a difference between calculating with an hourly and yearly resolution up to 49% is found. Despite this estimation being dependant on future decarbonization scenarios and other limitations, the variation between countries suggest that these results could be used as a decision-making tool to prioritize PV deployment in regions with higher mitigation potential.