Carbon Footprint Solar Panel Production

Although the use of solar panels is green many solar panel manufacturing processes are not.

Carbon footprint solar panel production.

The objection is essentially that solar panels are made from non renewable fossil fuels. The production of photovoltaic panels still has an important carbon footprint and creates a series of waste liquid and gaseous by products that are harmful to the environment. The average american household produces 14 920 pounds of carbon dioxide co2 each year assuming an average monthly energy consumption of 957 kilowatt hours. Solar energy systems are also great for homeowners wanting to reduce their carbon footprint.

Residential solar pv systemsare capable of meeting a household s electricity consumption entirely and result in 80 lower carbon emissions than fossil fuels. Silicon tetra chloride in solar. The carbon footprint of a solar photovoltaic pv panel the average level of greenhouse gas emissions it is responsible for over its lifetime is about 72 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt hour of electricity generated gco2e kwh. The fact is that even solar power plants have an environmental footprint on a lifecycle basis.

This remains true after accounting for emissions during manufacture construction and fuel supply. To create a solar panel caustic materials will emit greenhouse gases. For instance concentrated solar power csp has a footprint of 20 grams of carbon dioxide co2 per. The figures for ccs are elevated for two reasons.

It is often said that it costs more in fossil fuels to manufacture solar panels than they save over the life of the system. For those living in unconnected single family homes this number is significantly higher. A solar panel s carbon footprint is at least 20 times smaller than that of coal that a solar panel s carbon footprint is at least 20 times smaller than that of coal and has been continuing to drop as the technology improves and production volumes increase. In contrast coal ccs 109g gas ccs 78g hydro 97g and bioenergy 98g have relatively high emissions compared to a global average target for a 2c world of 15gco2e kwh in 2050.

Contrary to the critics a recent research shows that the carbon footprint of solar is lower than coal or gas with carbon capture and storage ccs. What about the carbon footprint of solar panels manufacturing. Firstly the extraction of quartz the crystalline form of silicon and of the other materials necessary for the construction of the panels.