How Sustainable Is Solar Energy Really? Latest Developments In 2023

Are you looking to reduce your home’s carbon footprint, or are you simply curious about the sustainability of solar energy? Many people today are making the switch to renewable and sustainable sources of energy for their homes. Solar energy is among the most popular choices for reaching these goals, and the costs have decreased dramatically since 2009. Considering the environmental damage that carbon emissions cause and the rapidly growing demand for clean electrical energy, that’s understandable. Climate change forces us to undertake dramatic changes in our power generation infrastructure, and solar farms and solar technologies play a significant role. But how “green” is it really?

In this article, we will take a deep dive into aspects different of solar energy, from scientific facts and trends to cost benefits and environmental concerns, and compare it with other fossil fuel energy sources and renewable energy sources. This way, you become a true expert and can make your own informed decision regarding solar energy.

How are Solar Panels produced?

Solar panels are a cost-effective and reliable source of renewable energy. The production process utilizes Silicon, as well as several chemicals, to create highly efficient solar cells.

Generally speaking, solar panels’ production starts with silicone purification using hydrofluoric or nitric acid. This produces a very high-quality raw material required for solar panel production.

Slabs of this purified silicon are cut into smaller wafers and treated with boron or phosphorus, shifting its output from a positive to a negative charge and allowing it to conduct electricity. These treated wafers then have electrical contacts applied along the edges to connect them in a circuit once the panel is assembled.

Afterward, a thin layer of metal is deposited on top, forming an anti-reflective coating that maximizes the efficiency of each cell. The final step includes combining all these individual cells together into powerful solar panels – some large enough to power entire homes or businesses.

What is Life Cycle Assessment?

Solar panels produce electricity for us and future generations without creating emissions. This claim is, unfortunately, only partly true. The production of solar panels uses a lot of energy, in particular. Also, the raw materials have to be mined, transported, processed, and assembled. As our current economy still primarily runs on fossil fuels, which are mainly responsible for climate change,  it means the entire process still emits greenhouse gases before the panel produces its first Kilowatt hour.

A life cycle assessment is a tool for evaluating the environmental impact of a solar energy product. It ensures that all associated greenhouse gas emissions are included in the calculation, from the production of materials to transport and installation.

By accounting for all emissions from each step, a Life cycle assessment provides a more accurate picture than simply considering only the emissions associated with generating electricity from solar power.

As a result, it allows us to accurately compare different sources of energy production to make decisions on carbon reduction strategies and increase sustainability.

Main Criticisms of Solar Power

Emissions

As we already know, solar panels generate electricity but also come with some greenhouse emissions, mainly due to the production process. The question is, how much do they contribute compared to other energy sources? Are the environmental benefits big enough to outweigh the carbon dioxide emitted during manufacturing? 

On average, solar panels emit 43g of CO2 equivalents per Kilowatt hour. The emissions can vary depending on the type of panel and model but still remains much lower than other sources of energy. For example, fossil fuels releases around 486 grams per Kilowatt hour, and coal emits 1000g of CO2 equivalents per Kilowatt hour, according to research conducted by the International Renewable Energy Agency.

As you can see, solar technology has a better environmentally-friendly score than traditional energy sources overall. However, it is worth pointing out that solar panels submit a little more CO2 equivalents than wind power (an average of 16g CO2 equivalents per Kilowatt hour).

Another common point I often hear against solar panels is that manufacturing will use more energy than the panel will ever produce. Here, another significant number is the Energy Pay Back Time (EPBT). It depends on the location of the solar power, but a standard Monocrystalline Solar Panel will pay itself off in 4-6 years, energy-wise. Considering the expected lifespan of a solar panel is often 30 years plus, that’s still more than 25 years of net-positive energy production.

Future Development of Emissions

Solar energy has steadily improved in terms of efficiency over the years. With advances in technology, future emissions have the potential to be drastically lower than those seen before. For example, perovskite modules are being studied as an initiative toward a cleaner future, offering unique opportunities for further research.

Furthermore, solar energy benefits from something called a “snowball effect.” This means the more solar energy is deployed, the cleaner it can become during production due to incremental cost savings within the supply chain and broader industry-wide adoption. These developments could potentially spark a great revolution in renewable energy and provide substantial environmental gains worldwide.

Toxic Chemicals

Toxic Chemicals and hazardous materials, such as Hydrofluoric Acid, are still used to clean the solar wafers during production by most solar companies. Many of these chemicals can devastate the environment and human health, so criticism isn’t entirely wrong there. Having that said, it is technically possible to filter and recycle most of these substances, but it is not 100% sure if all manufacturers are actually doing it. To further develop environmental sustainability, some pressure on the solar industry is required to minimize the use of non-renewable materials and chemicals.

There may be hope for a better future regarding non-toxic alternatives. According to recent research, scientists and engineers worldwide have developed promising non-toxic alternatives over the past year or two. While these developments offer new and exciting opportunities for a more sustainable world, the technology still needs further development before it is ready for mass production.

The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) also released the Solar Scorecard, which rates leading solar panel manufacturers on their environmental and social responsibility practices. It is designed to assist purchasers of photovoltaic technology in making informed decisions about the products used in developing clean energy projects.

The survey assesses each company’s efforts to prevent reliance on child labor, disposal of hazardous materials, formation of worker safety and environmental management systems, and other criteria.

By providing credible data to buyers, the scorecard is helping promote greater corporate accountability and better product stewardship within the renewable energy industry. With this information readily available, purchasers can confidently choose manufacturers committed to socially responsible practices while supporting a healthier environment.

Waste

Solar panels last for around 30 years, often even longer, but it is no secret that all panels reach the end of their life cycle at some point. Currently, the waist heap of discarded panels is still relatively low, but experts say the amount is expected to grow to 780 million tons of old solar panels.

As the global demand for renewable energy sources continues to rise, the same goes for the need for sustainable practices in their production. Photovoltaic solar panels serve as an invaluable renewable energy source, and many EU governments have made recycling old panels compulsory.

This is important because it drastically decreases the environmental impact of new solar panels and helps ensure that their production remains circularly sustainable. While recycling panels can be beneficial, most current methods cannot recover silicon with a high enough purity level for it to be reused in new panels.

Consequently, there is a need for further research and development of more sophisticated technologies that are capable of recovering materials from old solar cells with a purity level suitable for reuse.

By recognizing the importance of reducing our ecological footprint and prioritizing methods such as reduce-reuse-recycle as part of a larger goal towards a circular economy, we can help ensure our planet’s health today and its longevity tomorrow.

What Solar Panel Type is Best?

Now that we covered the most crucial criticism points, you can make your own informed decision about solar energy, whether you consider it for your off-grid house, your house in New York, or your Vacation home in California.

However, I can’t finish the article without telling you the difference in durability, efficiency, and price between the three currently most common solar panel types available.

Difference between black and blue solar panels

For improved absorption and efficiency, solar panels are often coated with a special anti-reflective blue hue. These polycrystalline panels bask in the sun’s rays more effectively due to this coloration.

Conversely, black monocrystalline panels use their naturally absorptive surface to capture even more light energy than their colored counterparts.

Monocrystalline solar panels

Monocrystalline solar panels are the oldest and most popular type of photovoltaic panel, used since their invention in 1955. They are easily recognizable by their solid deep black color and unique octagonal shape.

Monocrystalline solar panels tend to have a higher energy efficiency rating of 20-24%, the best efficiency, and the most extended lifespan of 25-40 years. However, these advantages come at an extra cost; monocrystalline cells are typically more expensive than other types due to their production process, which involves cutting a large single silicon crystal into thin pieces.

Additionally, because they consume significantly more power to create than methods like ribbon casting or stringing, they are also far less resourceful from a manufacturing standpoint.

Polycrystalline solar panels

Polycrystalline solar panels offer a great mid-range option between efficiency and cost. With an estimated life of 25-35 years and an energy efficiency rating of 20%, they provide homeowners with an affordable but reliable choice for clean, renewable energy production.

However, for those looking to maximize their total output, the greater area needed for an installation could mean missing out on further savings. On the plus side, from a manufacturing aspect, the manufacturing process for Polycrystalline cells is less sophisticated than for Monocrystalline cells and generally easier to produce.

This means it can be a more cost-efficient choice regarding production costs. However, unlike Monocrystalline cells with higher heat tolerance levels, Polycrystalline cells can experience slight drops in performance during very hot weather due to overheating.

Thin-film solar panels

Thin-film solar panels are attractive for many due to their relatively low cost and portability. However, the price comes with trade-offs; in terms of energy efficiency, thin film panels rate below other alternatives at only 19%.

Additionally, their average lifespan of 10-20 years is shorter than other panel types. Despite these limitations, thin-film solar panels remain popular for specific applications due to their convenience and flexibility.

From a manufacturing standpoint, the advantages are using less energy and fewer raw materials throughout the production process. A disadvantage may be the extensive research necessary to achieve a strong efficiency rating and the lack of scalability; both will impact the cost of production costs, which can be passed on to consumers in some cases.

Conclusion

Solar panels are a plentiful sustainable power supply, especially when compared to fossil fuels. They have some challenges, such as producing toxic chemicals and disposal, but these difficulties are not insurmountable. After all, there is no doubt that solar technology continues to produce energy and play a significant role in electrical energy production. So overall solar power deserves a good verdict regarding sustainable energy sources. Have you switched to solar panels? What other sustainable energy sources do you think are worth considering?