Application of Numerical Methods to Optimize the Global Photovoltaic Supply Chain

Abstract

In our past studies, it is clarified that the life cycle CO2 (LCCO2) of photovoltaic strongly depends on the location at each stage. Therefore, it is important to understand what supply chain is optimum to reduce LCCO2 from global point of view. In this study, we demonstrate some numerical techniques to investigate the optimum supply chain of photovoltaic. Network modeling is used to find out the optimum path to minimize LCCO2. Monte Carlo simulation is employed to obtain the possibility distribution of LCCO2. Finally, it is shown that how much CO2 emission can be reduced under the optimum supply chain.