Pollution Making Solar Panels

Silicon tetra chloride in solar.

Pollution making solar panels.

However some toxic materials and chemicals are used to make the photovoltaic pv cells that convert sunlight into electricity. Solar panels often contain lead cadmium and other toxic chemicals that cannot be removed without breaking apart the entire panel. The manufacturing process is irrelevant without context of the lifetime generated energy as well as how other fuel sources stack up. To create a solar panel caustic materials will emit greenhouse gases.

Nguyen phd toxic chemicals in solar panels include cadmium telluride copper indium selenide cadmium gallium di selenide copper indium gallium di selenide hexafluoroethane lead and polyvinyl fluoride. Solar panels take a lot of energy to create but the total emissions are heavily front loaded. After solar panels are installed they produce emission free energy for 25 years. Solar panel manufacturers need electricity and thermal energy and carbon emissions from their generation can vary widely with location.

While solar panels are considered a form of clean renewable energy the manufacturing process does produce greenhouse gas emissions. According to cancer biologist david h. Solar panels generate 300 times more toxic waste per unit of energy than nuclear power plants. Although the use of solar panels is green many solar panel manufacturing processes are not.

First off solar panels are not supposed to make any noise as they absorb sunshine and convert it to power. Worse rainwater can wash many of these toxics out of the fragments of solar modules over time. Panels produced in china which relies heavily on coal for power have a larger carbon footprint than those produced in europe. Approximately 90 of most pv modules are made up of glass.

However solar panels are not emitting toxins into the atmosphere as they re generating electricity. Once placed on mounting racking the panels don t move and don t contain any moving parts unless you order a pv array with a tracker that follows the sun throughout the daytime. Fabricating the panels requires caustic chemicals such as sodium hydroxide and hydrofluoric acid and the process uses water as well as electricity the production of which emits greenhouse gases. Solar energy systems power plants do not produce air pollution water pollution or greenhouse gases.

Additionally to produce solar panels manufacturers need to handle toxic chemicals. Silicon tetrachloride a byproduct of producing crystalline silicon is also highly toxic.