Environmental and economic analyses of different size photovoltaic installation in Poland

In Poland, in the last 3 years, there has been a sharp increase in the number of photovoltaic micro-installations, especially in the power range of 2–10 kWp. The study analyzes the economic viability and environmental aspects of the resulting installations. A distinction was made according to the size of the installation, which translates into its productivity and the scale effect of the assembly. For the first time in Poland, the emission levels of CO₂ and other pollutants were determined based on the power of PV installations. Both the Life Cycle Assessment and the cash flow analysis were used in the research. In the analyzed range of installation power, changes in the calculated environmental indicators ranged from 5.4 to 7 %, and the most environmentally effective option in the My Electricity program is a 10 kWp installation, while the highest economic efficiency was achieved for installations with a capacity of 2 kWp. In addition, the impact of the installation of many installations under the My Electricity program on the reduction of the carbon footprint, emission of dust, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide in the conditions of the Polish power industry was analyzed.