As announced in the ‘European Green Deal’, decarbonisation of the EU energy system is crucial to reach Europe’s climate objectives. To this extent, a power sector largely based on renewable sources must be developed, complemented by a rapid phasing out of coal and by decarbonising gas. In particular, the Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001/EU establishes a binding renewable energy target for the EU for 2030 of at least 32% of the Union’s gross final consumption in 2030, with an upwards revision clause by 2023. To reach that goal of 32%, the cumulative solar photovoltaic capacity in the EU and the UK would need to increase to 455–605 GW, corresponding to an increase of four times the current capacity in the EU. It is therefore imperative that newly installed photovoltaic products in the European Union do not create new future burdens on the environment. In this context, regulatory measures in the field of sustainable product policy will play an instrumental role ensuring the environmental sustainability of photovoltaics by improving their environmental performance as well as their energy yield, while reducing the overall life cycle environmental footprint. This preparatory study offers a comprehensive techno-economic and environmental assessment for photovoltaic products in order to provide policy makers with the evidence basis for assessing whether to implement four policy instruments: Ecodesign, Energy Label, Ecolabel and Green Public Procurement (GPP). It evaluates the feasibility of the application to solar photovoltaic modules, inverters and systems and their significance for the EU sustainable policy. The study comprises a comprehensive analysis of these three photovoltaic products using the Methodology for Ecodesign of Energy related Products, with the aim to develop a research evidence base to feed into decision making on the aforementioned policy instruments.

链接地址：http://dx.doi.org/10.2760/852637