Depletion Of Resources Used To Make Solar Panels

Even ten years ago this study said it takes about 2 years of energy generation to pay back the energy used to make the solar panel.

Depletion of resources used to make solar panels. So a solar panel will make many times more energy than it takes to make it. One of the issues confronting the solar industry is that many of the materials used to produce solar panels can be hazardous. With assumed life expectancies of 30 years and taking into account the fossil fuel based energy used in manufacture 87 to 97 of the energy that pv systems generate won t be plagued by pollution greenhouse gases and depletion of resources. That energy that went into making the panels is called embodied energy.

The silicon in solar panels is manufactured through a reduction process in which the silica is heated with a carbon material and the oxygen is removed leaving behind purer metallurgical grade silicon. 1 like recently a customer of ours raised the concern that he had heard. Sawing silicon into discs for use creates silicon dust called kerf with up to 50 waste. Some potential issues include.

From there the grade must be further purified into polysilicon the solar grade purity of which is 99 999 percent. Although not ideal toxic substances are sometimes used to help improve the efficiency and durability of solar energy systems. Based on models and real data the idea that pv cannot pay back its energy investment is simply a myth. Then it makes energy with no energy cost at all for the rest of its life.

The following table details some of the hazardous materials that can be found on a solar panel.