A transition to 100% clean energy is an urgent priority worldwide to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change and preserve a livable planet. Solar power is jetting us towards that goal.
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By , the US had installed 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of solar power, enough power to provide electricity for one third of the households in Los Angeles. Since then, the price of electricity from solar panels (photovoltaic, or PV, modules) dropped 85%, and today the US boasts more than 126 GW of installed capacity, enough to power all the households in California and Texas.
The growth in solar power has been exponential in the past decade and isn&#;t stopping. The US solar industry aims to supply 30% of US energy generation by .
But manufacturing the solar panels necessary for such a huge increase in solar power production will require a surge in the mining of raw materials. There are myriad problems that exist with the mining of silicon, silver, aluminum, and copper needed to make solar panels. Can governments and companies ensure that workers in the solar supply chain benefit from safe, just, and well-compensated livelihoods&#;and that the communities most affected are involved as active collaborators, treated with respect and dignity? This post looks at the concerns in the supply chain for solar panels as well as solutions the industry must move towards if solar power is to expand responsibly and sustainably.
(To understand how those raw materials are put together into electricity-producing panels, check out my previous post How Are Solar Panels Made.)
According to the US Department of Energy (DOE), about 12% of all silicon metal produced worldwide (also known as &#;metallurgical-grade silicon&#; or MGS) is turned into polysilicon for solar panel production. China produces about 70% of the world&#;s MGS and 77% of the world&#;s polysilicon. Converting silicon to polysilicon requires very high temperatures, and in China it&#;s coal that largely fuels these plants. Xinjiang&#;a region in China of abundant coal and low electricity prices&#;produces 45% of the world&#;s polysilicon.
Reports indicate that some Xinjiang polysilicon plants have employed forced labor of Uyghurs, an intensely persecuted Muslim ethnic minority. In June , a US Withhold Release Order prevented imports containing silicon from Hoshine Silicon Industry Co. Ltd and its subsidiaries from entering the US until importing companies could prove they were not made with forced labor. The December Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act expanded the mandate that all US companies importing silicon from Xinjiang confirm supply chains free of forced labor.
A Gleeson Quarries silica mine in Ireland. Photo credit: CDE Global/Flickr.Ten percent of the world&#;s silver is used for solar panels today, and that brings its own share of problems to the supply chain. By , in a 100% renewable energy scenario that assumes current solar technology and current recycling rates, solar power&#;s demand for silver could be more than 50% of world reserves.
Silver mining, based mainly in Mexico, China, Peru, Chile, Australia, Russia, and Poland, can sometimes cause heavy metal contamination and community displacement. In Guatemala, the Indigenous Xinka community collected more than 85,000 signatures calling on Pan American Silver to avoid restarting its dormant operations due to water contamination, failure to justly consult the community, and potential involvement in threats directed at nonviolent protesters. In La Libertad, Peru, a 17-year-old mine stopped operating in after five emergency declarations of high levels of metal contamination in the Moche River.
Xinka leaders fill the Guatemalan Congress in protesting the Guatemalan government&#;s repression of anti-silver mine activism. Photo credit: Xeni Jardin/Flickr.While silicon and silver are the materials for which solar represents a substantial slice of the market, it&#;s critical to ensure sustainable, ethical sourcing of the other materials, even if only a fraction of global usage. For example, solar panels use a small amount of aluminum, which is sourced from bauxite found near the Earth&#;s surface. Mining it requires lots of land, often encroaching on Indigenous land, as in Australia, where 28% of the world&#;s bauxite is produced, and smallholder farmland, as in Guinea, where 22% of it is produced. China produces 22% of the world&#;s bauxite, and processes 56% of global bauxite into aluminum via a very energy-intensive process.
A former bauxite mine in Hungary. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.Copper has similar land use challenges as aluminum. According to United States Geological Survey, 27% of copper production occurs in Chile, 10% in Peru, 8% in China, and 8% in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In a 100% renewable energy by scenario, copper demand for solar projects may almost triple, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The Institute for Human Rights and Business reports that of the top 300 undeveloped copper ore reserves in the world, 47% are located on or in Indigenous lands, 65% are in high water risk areas, and 65% are in or near biodiversity conservation areas.
The world&#;s largest open-pit copper mine is in Chile. Photo credit: Martyn Unsworth/Imaggeo.egu.eu.There are three parts of a solar panel that need to be manufactured: the silicon wafer, the solar cell, and the photovoltaic module. Very little of this is manufactured domestically, representing big opportunities for new and pioneering US innovation.
The wafer is the thin metal slice that is turned into a solar cell, and 97% of them are produced in China. A decade ago, the US was producing enough silicon wafers to supply 80% of domestic demand. As of February , there was no domestic production of wafers due to far lower prices abroad and Chinese tariffs, but a few US sites have announced plans to come online in the next several years.
Boron and phosphorous are added to wafers during the manufacturing process. The wafers are then wired with silver, which turns them into solar cells capable of transforming captured sunlight into electricity. While the first US crystalline silicon solar cell plants have announced plans to open in the next few years, no cells are produced in the US today; most are made in South Korea, Malaysia, China, and Vietnam.
A solar PV panel or &#;module&#; is made by assembling an array of solar cells, ranging from 36 to 144 cells, on top of a strong plastic polymer back sheet with a sheet of tempered glass added on top. More than three-quarters of PV modules are made in China. It currently costs 30-40% more to manufacture a solar panel in the US. There are about 20 US-owned, US-based solar module and shingle manufacturers, with 10 based in California, and others based in New York, Ohio, Texas, Indiana, New Jersey, and Arizona.
As described above, there are many challenges associated with the materials mining and manufacturing processes needed to make solar panels. But effective policy and technology solutions can ensure that we continue to increase solar power supply and move towards responsible, sustainable solar supply chains.
Here are four strategies (among many others) that governments and industry can employ to reduce the environmental, social, and energy challenges of solar panel production.
And what happens at a solar panel&#;s end-of-life? Today, we&#;re installing 50-60 million panels per year, which will generate a million metric tons of solar panel waste when the panels retire. By , experts estimate we could be installing over 350 million panels per year. This is huge, climate-saving news for accelerating the clean energy transition. It also raises the stakes for ensuring sustainable materials sourcing and end-of-life management. Where will the panels go 20-30 years later when they reach the end of their lifespan? Are there opportunities to achieve a circular solar panel supply chain?
Want to learn more about how solar panels are made? What does the solar panel repair and reuse industry look like today? How can we recycle solar panel materials and create a lower-waste circular supply chain? Click the links for answers:
How Are Solar Panels Made?
Solar Panels Should Be Reused and Recycled. Here&#;s How.
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A solar PV module consists of solar cells, glass, EVA, backsheet and frame. Learn more about the components and the process of manufacturing a solar panel.
There are 3 types of solar panels available on the market:
monocrystalline solar panels
polycrystalline solar panels
thin film solar panels
Thus, at cell structure level, there are different types of material for manufacturing, such as mono silicon, polysilicon or amorphous silicon (AnSi). The first 2 kinds of cells have a somewhat similar manufacturing process. Read below about the steps of producing a crystalline solar panel.
It all starts with the raw material, which in our case is sand. Most solar panels are made of silicon, which is the main component in natural beach sand.
Silicon is abundantly available, making it the second most available element on Earth.
However, converting sand into high grade silicon comes at a high cost and is an energy intensive process. High-purity silicon is produced from quartz sand in an arc furnace at very high temperatures.
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The silicon is collected, usually in the form of solid rocks. Hundreds of these rocks are being melted together at very high temperatures in order to form ingots in the shape of a cylinder. To reach the desired shape, a steel, cylindrical furnace is used.
In the process of melting, attention is given so that all atoms are perfectly aligned in the desired structure and orientation. Boron is added to the process, which will give the silicone positive electrical polarity.
Mono crystalline cells are manufactured from a single crystal of silicon. Mono Silicon has higher efficiency in converting solar energy into electricity, therefore the price of monocrystalline panels is higher.
Polysilicone cells are made from melting several silicon crystals together. You can recognise them by the shattered glass look given by the different silicon crystals. After the ingot has cooled down, grinding and polishing are being performed, leaving the ingot with flat sides.
Wafers represent the next step in the manufacturing process.
The silicon ingot is sliced into thin disks, also called wafers. A wire saw is used for precision cutting. The thinness of the wafer is similar to that of a piece of paper.
Because pure silicon is shiny, it can reflect the sunlight. To reduce the amount of sunlight lost, an anti-reflective coating is put on the silicon wafer.
The following processes will convert a wafer into a solar cell capable of converting solar power into electricity.
Each of the wafers is being treated and metal conductors are added on each surface. The conductors give the wafer a grid-like matrix on the surface. This will ensure the conversion of solar energy into electricity. The coating will facilitate the absorption of sunlight, rather than reflecting it.
In an oven-like chamber, phosphorous is being diffused in a thin layer over the surface of the wafers. This will charge the surface with a negative electrical orientation. The combination of boron and phosphorous will give the positive - negative junction, which is critical for the proper function of the PV cell.
The solar cells are soldered together, using metal connectors to link the cells. Solar panels are made of solar cells integrated together in a matrix-like structure.
The current standard offering in the market are:
48 cell panels - suitable for small residential roofs.
60-cell panels - this is the standard size.
72-cell panels -used for large-scale installations.
The most common sized system in terms of kWh for UK homes is the 4kWh solar system.
After the cells are put together, a thin layer (about 6-7 mm) of glass is added on the front side, facing the sun. The backsheet is made from highly durable, polymer-based material. This will prevent water, soil, and other materials from entering the panel from the back. Subsequently, the junction box is added, in order to enable connections inside the module.
It all comes together once the frame is assembled. The frame will also provide protection against impact and weather. The use of a frame will also allow the mounting of the panel in a variety of ways, for example with mounting clamps.
EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) is the glue that binds everything together. It is very important that the quality of the encapsulant is high so it doesn't damage the cells under harsh weather conditions.
Once the module is ready, testing is carried out to ensure the cells perform as expected. STC (Standard Test Conditions) are used as a reference point. The panel is put in a flash tester at the manufacturing facility. The tester will deliver the equivalent of W/m2 irradiance, 25°C cell temperature and an air mass of 1.5g. Electrical parameters are written down and you can find these results on the technical specification sheet of every panel. The ratings will reveal the power output, efficiency, voltage, current, impact and temperature tolerance.
Apart from STC, every manufacturer uses NOCT (nominal operating cell temperature). The parameters used are more close to &#;real life&#; scenario: open-circuit module operation temperature at 800W/m2 irradiance, 20°C ambient temperature, 1m/s wind speed. Again, the ratings of NOCT can be found on the technical specification sheet.
Cleaning and inspection are the final steps of the production before the module is ready to be shipped to homes or businesses.
Research and development in the solar energy industry is aiming at reducing the cost of solar panels and increasing efficiency. The solar panel manufacturing industry is becoming more competitive and is forecasted to become more popular than conventional sources of energy, such as fossil fuels.
If you're interested in joining thousands of UK homeowners who have already switched to renewable energy, GreenMatch can help you take the first step. By getting multiple quotes you can be assured you're getting the best deal.
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