The accelerated deployment of wind and solar energy is a cornerstone of global decarbonization strategies, yet it has intensified challenges related to the transparency, credibility, and governance of environmental and social impact assessments, particularly in emerging and Global South contexts. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is widely established as a robust methodological framework for evaluating environmental impacts across the full life cycle of energy systems; however, practical applications often rely on fragmented datasets, static evaluations, and limited verification mechanisms, which can undermine trust among regulators, communities, and project developers. These limitations are especially critical in renewable energy projects, where cumulative effects, social impacts, and governance considerations are central to enabling a just energy transition. In this context, this study proposes a blockchain-supported LCA framework that enhances data integrity, traceability, and accountability while preserving the scientific foundations of life cycle thinking.
Methodologically, the framework positions LCA as the analytical backbone, aligned with ISO-compliant life cycle principles, and integrates blockchain strictly as a technological enabler for data governance rather than as an end in itself. The approach combines a structured environmental LCA with a selected set of social indicators inspired by Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) practice, focusing on dimensions particularly relevant to renewable energy projects in emerging contexts, such as community engagement, labor conditions, land-use interactions, grievance mechanisms, and compliance with social commitments across project phases. These indicators are operationalized through a digital architecture capable of capturing, structuring, and processing heterogeneous data streams derived from monitoring systems, project documentation, and stakeholder inputs. A permissioned blockchain layer records cryptographic hashes and metadata associated with datasets, indicators, and assessment outputs, enabling immutability, version control, and verifiability while maintaining data privacy and operational flexibility. Within this setup, authorized stakeholders—such as project developers, regulators, and academic partners—can write and validate records, while broader audiences can access verified information through read-only interfaces, supporting transparency and accountability. The framework is operationalized through a functional digital platform developed under the IMPACT Energy.CO initiative, designed to interlink LCA workflows, data management modules, and blockchain services in a coherent and scalable manner.
The results demonstrate both conceptual and applied contributions. Conceptually, the framework clarifies how blockchain can be systematically embedded within LCA workflows to address long-standing issues of transparency, accountability, and trust without compromising methodological rigor or comparability. Functionally, the platform implementation shows that life cycle indicators, monitoring records, and governance-related events can be registered in a tamper-resistant manner, enabling independent verification of assessment outputs across project phases. The integration of blockchain enhances data integrity and traceability, while the LCA engine ensures analytical consistency and supports evidence-based decision-making, regulatory review, and multi-stakeholder oversight in renewable energy projects.
Overall, this work advances a novel, blockchain-supported LCA framework that strengthens the environmental and social governance of renewable energy systems and contributes to the operationalization of a just energy transition. While the approach is broadly applicable to emerging and Global South contexts, its practical feasibility is illustrated through a case study in Colombia, where wind and solar projects face complex environmental, social, and institutional challenges. The proposed framework offers a scalable and replicable pathway for bridging science, policy, and practice by embedding trustworthy, life-cycle-based evidence into renewable energy planning and governance worldwide.
This research was made possible through the support of the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH), Vicepresidencia Técnica, within the framework of Contracts 478 and 515 of 2025 executed between the ANH and the Universidad del Magdalena. The authors gratefully acknowledge this institutional cooperation, which enabled the development of the IMPACT Energy.CO platform and the advancement of applied research aimed at improving the assessment, transparency, and governance of environmental and social impacts in renewable energy projects in Colombia.
