How Are Solar Panels Environmentally Friendly

Solar panels generate 300 times more toxic waste per unit of energy than nuclear power plants.

How are solar panels environmentally friendly.

As the influence and impact of solar power grow scientists and manufacturers around the world actively aspire to create even better more sustainable solar energy technology. By installing solar panels tampa residents are taking the right step towards. The silicon valley toxics coalition svtc which works to promote eco friendly practices in the high tech industry warned in a 2009 report that little attention is currently being paid to the potential. 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.

But with solar growing in popularity thanks to falling prices and various tax incentives we could see a wave of e waste in the next 20 some odd years if the industry doesn t take action now. Worse rainwater can wash many of these toxics out of the fragments of solar modules over time. Without efficiency and reasonable limits to energy use solar and wind power only benefit the environment so much. The energy payback time for solar panels ranges from 3 1 to 4 1 years depending on whether they are monocrystalline or polycrystalline silicon.

With recycling expensive. However are solar panels really energy efficient and eco friendly. While solar panels are considered a form of clean renewable energy the manufacturing process does produce greenhouse gas emissions. Solar panels are definitely an environmentally friendly energy source.

While there is no doubt that solar energy is a clean form of energy questions loom around the actual green index of solar panels. They also contain lead cadmium and other toxic even carcinogenic chemicals that cannot be removed without breaking apart the entire panel. Environmental scientists and solar industry leaders are raising the red flag about used solar panels which contain toxic heavy metals and are considered hazardous waste. Solar panels can take up large chunks of desert previously used by a host of wildlife from pronghorns and tortoises to coyotes and rattlesnakes.

Solar power is one of the most environmentally friendly energy sources.