A comparison of solar and conventional pavements via life cycle assessment

Abstract

The sustainable and green development of roads is lately receiving significant attention. As a multi-functional road capable of both accommodating traffic loads and generating clean energy, solar pavements exhibit a strategic opportunity for the future path of development in the road engineering. Although solar pavements have significant environmental benefits during their operation, they can lead to increased carbon emissions during the process of material preparation, construction, maintenance, etc. Therefore, it is essential to implement the framework of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to investigate their potential environmental impacts and/or benefits. Hence, this paper systematically analyzes the energy consumption and emissions of solar pavements based on LCA. The results show that the total energy consumption and gas emissions of the solar pavement are far greater than those of the traditional asphalt pavement. Nevertheless, in longterm the power generation function of the solar pavement has significant energy and environmental benefits.