Are Fossil Fuels Superior to Floating Photovoltaic on Energy Return?- an LCEA Perspective

Some studies indicate that fossil fuels’ energy return (ER) is superior to that of renewable energy. Brockway et al. (2019) deliver that the above Energy-return-on-investment (EROI) ratios are above 25:1 at the primary energy stage but about 6:1 after considering the energy consumption of the final stage production. It is essential to clarify whether the photovoltaic (PV) ER is agreeable for stakeholders to facilitate industry growth. Although much of the literature addresses the ER of fossil fuels and PV, they did not introduce the perspective of the Lifecycle energy analysis (LCEA) assessment, leading to divergent findings. This paper conducts a 30-year lifespan ER assessment of the 181 MW offshore floating PV (OFPV) at the Changhua Coastal Industrial Park, Taiwan, which is one of the world’s most-extensive OFPVs. It estimates its Energy payback time (EPBT) and EROI using time series forecasting and LCEA analyses to determine whether the PV technology creation affects the PV’s ER. The results show that the EPBT (about 0.94 years) and EROI (about 31.9) are more excellent than and comply with previous research’s part of the cap. It is comparable to typically used energies. The approach delivered in this paper can help verify the impact of PV creative technology on ER. The study results should benefit investors’ decision-making while funding an OFPV project.