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I don't think we've even started to account the immense costs of reciclying solar panels. Not even mentioning wind turbines, which today are partly not even rec

• Reason077 5y ago
  > "immense costs of reciclying solar panels ... A nuclear power plant can last 50-75 years." How long do you think it takes to "recycle" a nuclear power plant after it finishes operation? Decommissioning an old nuclear power plant can take more than 100 years and costs billions. Decommissioning and clean-up of the UK's fleet of 17 retired Magnox reactors, built between the 1950s and 1970s, is estimated to cost in excess of £100 billion, and will still be ongoing well into the 22nd century: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/WR-UK-nuclear-clean-up-cost-estimate-dips-to-154-billion-15071602.html https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/WR-UK-nuclear-clean-up-co... Is it really fair for us to keep offloading these costs and problems onto future generations?
• pfdietz 5y ago
  The cost of recycling solar panels is maybe $.01/watt, if that? It's a small fraction of the cost of installing the solar panels. This also assumes the solar panels even need to be recycled. Maybe to recover silver from front contact wires?