Over Easy Solar publishes world-first EPD covering both solar panels and mounting
Over Easy Solar has published a new Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for the xM-3 vertical photovoltaic system. The declaration provides independently verified environmental data for the product according to ISO 14025 and EN 15804+A2 and is published by EPD-Global.
What makes the declaration unusual is its scope. The xM-3 is a prefabricated rooftop solar product where the photovoltaic panels and mounting structure are integrated into one unit. The EPD therefore covers both the PV panels and the mechanical mounting system, rather than only the solar module.
Based on our review of published EPDs for photovoltaic modules, mounting systems and integrated solar products, we have not identified a single other flat-roof PV product where both the solar panels and structural mounting system are covered by the same EPD. Separate EPDs for flat-roof mounting systems do exist, but these are normally published independently from the PV module EPD.
For architects, consultants and building owners, this combination can make the environmental impact of rooftop solar considerably simpler to calculate and document.
The footprint of the VPV Unit xM-3 EPD at a glance
Item | xM-3 EPD data |
Product | xM-3 QUATTRO-256S |
EPD number | NEPD-17709-22219 |
Published by | EPD-Global |
Declared unit | 1 m² of installed VPV system, measured by ground projection |
Product scope | PV panels + mechanical mounting structure |
Climate footprint, A1-A3 | 51.5 kg CO₂e/m² |
Climate footprint, A1-A5 | 56.2 kg CO₂e/m² in the modelled Norwegian scenario (calculated from EPD values) |
Reference service life | 25 years |
Standards | ISO 14025, EN 15804+A2, NPCR 029 |
Issue date | 21 September 2026 |
Valid until | 21 September 2031 |
What is an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for a PV installation?
An Environmental Product Declaration presents standardized information about the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle. It is based on a Life Cycle Assessment, or LCA, and reports indicators such as climate impact, resource use, water use and end-of-life impacts.
For a deeper look at the life-cycle impact of vertical PV, including our earlier work with Fraunhofer ISE, see our article on the LCA and climate footprint of the Over Easy system.
For solar products, one of the most frequently used indicators is Global Warming Potential, expressed as kilograms of CO₂ equivalents. EPDs are particularly useful in building projects because they provide product-specific environmental data that can be used in building LCAs, procurement requirements and environmental assessments instead of relying only on generic datasets.
The xM-3 EPD is based on the product category rules for photovoltaic modules and covers the relevant life-cycle stages from materials and manufacturing through transport, installation and end of life. It is valid until September 2031.
Simple documentation: One EPD for both solar panels and mounting
A rooftop solar installation consists of more than solar panels. Conventional PV systems also require rails, brackets, supports, ballast or other structural components to keep the modules securely in place. Environmental documentation for the PV module and the mounting structure is therefore commonly provided separately.
The VPV Unit is different. Four bifacial solar panels are factory-mounted onto a lightweight structure consisting primarily of aluminium beams and polymer components. The PV panels and structural system arrive on the roof as one prefabricated unit.
The EPD follows the same logic. Its functional unit explicitly includes both “PV Panel + Mechanical Part”. For someone calculating the environmental impact of a rooftop solar installation, this means there is no need to find one environmental dataset for the panel and another for the mounting system. The environmental footprint of both is already included in the same verified declaration.
This is another way of making rooftop solar simpler, not only to install, but also to specify and document.
Simple planning: Carbon footprint per square metre of rooftop solar
There is another unusual feature of the EPD that is particularly useful in building design. The declared unit is one square metre of installed VPV system, measured by ground projection.
51.5 kg CO₂e per m² of installed system
This is the A1-A3 climate impact and includes raw materials, transport of materials and manufacturing of both the PV panels and the mechanical mounting structure.
Many photovoltaic calculations are expressed per kWp of installed solar capacity. That makes sense to a solar engineer, but it is often less useful during the early design of a building. Architects and building planners work with square metres. At an early project stage, they may already know that 300 or 500 m² of a roof could be allocated to solar, long before the final electrical design and installed peak capacity have been determined.
With an environmental impact expressed per square metre, an early estimate becomes straightforward. A preliminary design with 500 m² of xM-3, for example, corresponds to approximately 25.8 tonnes CO₂e for A1-A3, before the complete PV system has been electrically dimensioned.
Making environmental impact easier to use in building design and architecture
The choice of square metres also makes the EPD easier to integrate into the way buildings are actually planned. Environmental impact can be considered together with roof area, structural constraints, green roof design and other architectural decisions from an early stage. Consultants can use product-specific data without first completing a detailed solar layout simply to establish the embodied carbon of the rooftop product.
The EPD covers far more than climate impact, including the environmental indicators required under EN 15804. It also provides end-of-life scenarios and potential benefits from recycling materials such as aluminium, copper and glass.
For building owners or public projects requiring documented environmental performance, the important point is simple: the numbers are available, standardized and independently verified.
What’s in the numbers? From kg CO₂e/m² to g CO₂e/kWh
Most of the climate footprint occurs before the system reaches the roof. For the Norwegian reference scenario in the EPD, the climate impact is 51.5 kg CO₂e/m² from materials and manufacturing (A1-A3), 2.8 kg CO₂e/m² from transport (A4), and 1.91 kg CO₂e/m² from installation (A5).
This means materials and manufacturing represent approximately 92% of the A1-A5 climate footprint, while transport represents about 5% and installation about 3%. The transport figure should be understood in the context of the EPD scenario, which models production in China followed by transport to Norway and onward transport from Oslo to Bergen.
Another interesting way to look at climate impact is per unit of electricity generated, in g CO₂e/kWh. This is useful when comparing the climate footprint of electricity production, but it is less suitable as the declared unit of a PV product because solar energy yield depends strongly on geographic location, orientation, local conditions and system performance.
As a simple illustration, the xM-3 A1-A3 footprint corresponds to approximately 19 g CO₂e/kWh if the system produces 1,000 kWh/kWp per year for 25 years, without correcting the example for degradation. In reality, the number will vary from location to location. For local analysis, see article on vertical solar panel yield in different locations around the world.
The new EPD therefore provides two useful perspectives on the same product: a simple, verified environmental footprint per square metre for building planning, and the data needed to translate that footprint into climate impact per unit of renewable electricity where required.
