What will we do with all those solar panels when their useful life is over?-2018
yesbut 2021-08-19 16:04:21 +0000 UTC [ - ]
Do we have a method of mass producing solor cells that doesn't require coal and is in widespread use?
smorgusofborg 2021-08-19 16:27:56 +0000 UTC [ - ]
Solar has or is reaching wholesale grid price parity in many markets so it has in essence bootstrapped and the energy that goes into new solar panel production should increasingly be from existing solar panels.
dublin 2021-08-19 16:25:52 +0000 UTC [ - ]
This is a really good question, especially since a substantial fraction of the cheap Chinese solar panels produced in the past decade are not even lasting long enough to fully pay for themselves. Lower-tier Chinese panels are now frequently seen to be delaminating after just 6 or 7 years. At that point, they begin leaching toxic heavy metals into the environment.
Recycling them makes no economic or energy sense, so most will wind up in landfills, poisoning the ground for centuries to come.
sunstone 2021-08-19 16:27:38 +0000 UTC [ - ]