“One can note that the carbon intensity of China at 788 g/kWh is greater than that of Canada at 184 g/kWh. (…). The most effective carbon-mitigating PV cell would be produced in Canada and sent to China. The low carbon intensity of the electric grid in Canada and corresponding low embodied carbon of the cell would combine with the high mitigation potential in China to produce an optimized mitigation technology.”
Unfortunately, it is the other way around. Solar cells are produced in China, and shipped to countries with relatively clean electric grids.
The quote is from: “Towards real energy economics: energy policy driven by life-cycle carbon emission“, Energy Policy 38, 2010.
