Social Performance of Electricity Generation in a Solar Power Plant in Spain—A Life Cycle Perspective

This publication demonstrates the practical application of Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) methodology in the analysis of a 50 MWe Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plant located in Spain. The assessment makes use of two complementary analytical approaches: (1) a generic social hotspot analysis based on the social risks related to financial flows generated by the provision of goods and services taking place during the life cycle of the power generation system, and then (2) a site-specific analysis focussing on the social performance of the construction/energy company involved in the construction and operation of the power plant. The site-specific analysis followed the procedures proposed by UNEP/SETAC but included a new classification/characterization model suited to the particularities of the project and the energy sector. The analysis considered four stakeholder categories (workers; local community; society; and value chain actors) and used the number of worker hours as activity variable for the quantification of social risks. Worker hours attributable to each of the stages of the life cycle of the CSP system were calculated using input-output (IO) analysis. The impact assessment phase of the S-LCA was carried out using a Social Performance Indicator (SPI), which required the estimation of performance reference points for a series of indicators/subcategories proposed by the UNEP/SETAC Guidelines. The SPI calculated for the CSP plant (+0.388 for a ±2 range) suggested that the use of solar power results in an increase of social welfare in Spain, primarily with regards to socioeconomic sustainability and fairness of relationships. The inventory data used in the social hotspot analysis were monetary flows attributable to each of the processes considered in the life cycle of the power system. These flows were assigned to the corresponding sector of the producer country. The Social Hotspot Database (SHDB) was used to link these demand values to social risks and opportunities. The results showed that the life cycle phase contributing the most to the social risk of the solar power system was operation and management. This is due primarily (over 75% of the weighed risk) to the social risks associated with the supply chain of the natural gas used as auxiliary fuel. For Spain, the main social risks associated with the solar power plant were related to gender inequality and corruption, and to a lesser extent to injuries and immigrants. Some of these risks were confirmed in the site-specific assessment. The paper ends with a discussion about the application of Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) for evaluating the results obtained in this Social-LCA in combination with environmental and economic oriented LCA.