Solar Energy
Solar Energy
A vast subject, covering many kinds of solar energy transfer ;- physical, biophysical, biochemical, inorganic chemical.
Solar energy can be interfaced with in many kinds of location to supply many human uses;- in space, on satellites, in the upper atmosphere, on land, on and in water.
At present we concentrate here on solar electric panels and their recycling.
These are also known as photovoltaic cells, PV's, and other names.
The main kind currently use thin pieces of crystallised silicon, whose production is itself energy intense. Other types of solar electric panels use increasingly exotic production materials and PV design is evolving .
Other solar energy devices, such as solar tubes and mirror arrays, also have production and sustainability considerations.
Solar Panel Recycling
At present, 202X, only 10% of panels are actually recycled due to the costs of recycling.
Solar panels last about 30 years.
They are made mainly of 3 types of material:- plastic, aluminium and glass which make up the framing of the solar cells. A further 3 materials as lesser amounts; - silicon, silver and copper, make up the solar cells.
The technology to recycle solar panels already exists, but the economics which currently control material prices do not at this time make recycling attractive.
The amount of panels being produced is in the millions and uses a lot of energy, materials and people. As panels get damaged or begin to fail or go past their required use, the amount of material is steadily accumulating and represents many million cubic meters and tons of potential resources. The recycling potential is huge and reckoned to become a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide.
It has recently been estimated that regardless of the current technical and economic disinclinations to recycling, the necessity due to the environmental un-savourability of dumping panels as landfill, will effectively force through recycling as a "must do". By 2050 we may see the creation of an industry recovering $15 billion of constituent materials.
Rather than represent a known problem, solar panel recycling is a known opportunity for which society can prepare.