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Germany’s solar farms will have to be rebuilt every 15-25 years Why is that? Do solar panels really degrade to the point where they are unprofitable to run aft

Germany’s solar farms will have to be rebuilt every 15-25 years Why is that? Do solar panels really degrade to the point where they are unprofitable to run after 15 - 25 years?

Wildgoose 7y ago
Basically, yes. The same is true for anything electro-mechanical. Things wear out. Plus you have to keep the panels clean - a dirty solar panel doesn't generate the same output as a clean one.
jillesvangurp 7y ago
No they don't. The reason they get replaced is because of technical obsolescence. Newer panels are just so much better that at some point you replace them to get much better yields. Same with wind. Technical progress has increased the efficiency. Better still, it has vastly decreased the amount of maintenance needed. Modern ceramics vastly reduce the amount of wear and tear that happens due to friction.
pgeorgi 7y ago
There are multiple factors at work: There's ongoing maintenance as with everything, and you can probably accumulate its costs into it meaning "you're paying for a new one every 40 years through maintenance alone". Yield is going down over time (solar panels are sold with guarantees like "80% efficiency after 20 years"). And finally, technology is improving: replacing these 2006 solar panels in 2020 not only gives you back the base yield of a 2006 panel, but the base yield of a 2020 panel (see https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/CellPVeff%28rev191101%29.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/CellPVef... for a research level comparison over time. That won't translate directly into industrial use though, but the direction should be evident) So the situation is less that is "has to be rebuilt" but that it's economical to rebuild every 20-ish years (factoring in the maintenance costs: a panel that you replaced due to physical damange 10 years in needn't be scrapped just 10 years later) rather than letting the stuff hang around for arbitrarily long times. With a proper recycling chain that shouldn't be too bad (there's little reason why the silicon can't be purified, and the doting material be refurbished), and ongoing maintenance is a concern with all types of power plant.

Germany’s solar farms will have to be rebuilt every 15-25 years Why is that? Do solar panels really degrade to the point where they are unprofitable to run after 15 - 25 years?

Wildgoose 7y ago

Basically, yes. The same is true for anything electro-mechanical. Things wear out. Plus you have to keep the panels clean - a dirty solar panel doesn't generate the same output as a clean one.

jillesvangurp 7y ago

No they don't. The reason they get replaced is because of technical obsolescence. Newer panels are just so much better that at some point you replace them to get much better yields. Same with wind. Technical progress has increased the efficiency. Better still, it has vastly decreased the amount of maintenance needed. Modern ceramics vastly reduce the amount of wear and tear that happens due to friction.

pgeorgi 7y ago

There are multiple factors at work: There's ongoing maintenance as with everything, and you can probably accumulate its costs into it meaning "you're paying for a new one every 40 years through maintenance alone". Yield is going down over time (solar panels are sold with guarantees like "80% efficiency after 20 years"). And finally, technology is improving: replacing these 2006 solar panels in 2020 not only gives you back the base yield of a 2006 panel, but the base yield of a 2020 panel (see https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/CellPVeff%28rev191101%29.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/CellPVef... for a research level comparison over time. That won't translate directly into industrial use though, but the direction should be evident) So the situation is less that is "has to be rebuilt" but that it's economical to rebuild every 20-ish years (factoring in the maintenance costs: a panel that you replaced due to physical damange 10 years in needn't be scrapped just 10 years later) rather than letting the stuff hang around for arbitrarily long times. With a proper recycling chain that shouldn't be too bad (there's little reason why the silicon can't be purified, and the doting material be refurbished), and ongoing maintenance is a concern with all types of power plant.