4 ms·

I think we shouldn't be forgetting about the disposal of solar panels as well - https://www.discovermagazine.com/environment/solar-panel-waste-the-dark-side-of-

• orwin 5y ago
  I'm pro-nuclear, but solar panel disposal in rich country is almost solved. 94,7% recyclable, the recycling is taken into account when you buy them (in Europe at least), so its free to get them to the recycling plant for the owner.
  • a9h74j 5y ago
    And then energy and transportation prices increase by a factor of four, and it turns out not enough money was set aside for solar-farm decomissioning??
  • rsj_hn 5y ago
    I don't think the issue is that we don't know how to dispose of or recycle the panels. But the US uses 93 quadrillion BTU per year (https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/ https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/), so to supply 10% of the US' daily power needs would require 5 billion panels. Moreover these panels will degrade over time, so they require maintenance, recycling, disposal, etc. So one hill half covered with solar panels is one thing, but when you have 5 billion solar panels, then yes, it stops looking so green to me. And then you need to get the other 90% from somewhere.