Solar Panel Production Toxic Waste

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.

Solar panel production toxic waste.

They also contain lead cadmium and other toxic even carcinogenic chemicals that cannot be removed without breaking apart the entire panel. Photovoltaic panels are a boon for clean energy but are tricky to recycle. Silicon tetrachloride mentioned above as one of the most toxic chemicals involved in the manufacturing of panels is usually recycled by manufacturers as a cost saving measure. The international renewable energy agency estimated that there were about 250 000 metric tons of solar panel waste in the world at the end of 2016 and that the figure could reach 78 million metric tons by 2050.

According to cancer biologist david h. Solar panels generate 300 times more toxic waste per unit of energy than nuclear power plants. Tao meng lead author of a new study says the big blind spot in the u s. Worse rainwater can wash many of these toxics out of the fragments of solar modules over time.

Unscrupulous companies ship solar panel waste to developing nations but that is a stopgap solution that is environmentally irresponsible. Silicon tetrachloride a byproduct of producing crystalline silicon is also highly toxic. They can use this byproduct to create more polysilicon and therefore more panels. Many of the other toxic chemicals and products in solar panels can also be recycled.

Approximately 90 of most pv modules are made up of glass. Solar panels often contain lead cadmium and other toxic chemicals that cannot be removed without breaking apart the entire panel. As the oldest ones expire get ready for a solar e waste glut. Recently passed legislation authorizes dtsc to adopt regulations to designate used spent solar panels that are hazardous wastes as universal waste.

Nguyen phd toxic chemicals in solar panels include cadmium telluride copper indium selenide cadmium gallium di selenide copper indium gallium di selenide hexafluoroethane lead and polyvinyl fluoride. For recycling is that the cost far exceeds the revenue by nearly 10 to 1 especially when including transportation costs. Until the new regulations are adopted solar panels that exhibit characteristics of hazardous waste must be managed as hazardous wastes and not as universal wastes.