3 ms·

He's not disputing that, he's disputing your "shell game" comment. It's not a zero sum, and solar panel creation is better in the long run compared to burning

He's not disputing that, he's disputing your "shell game" comment. It's not a zero sum, and solar panel creation is better in the long run compared to burning coal.

boredumb 5y ago
That's not what he quoted so I misunderstood. I was responding originally to the person insinuating that we need to find new jobs for people in the coal industry. Regardless of the energy returns, solar requires coal which would require people to work in the coal industry.
- dane-pgp 5y ago
  Just to put things in perspective: 1. A 300 W solar panel weighs about 20 kg 2. Approximately 90% of most PV modules are made up of glass, so let's assume (incorrectly) that the other 10% (i.e. 2 kg) is PVC 3. It takes three pounds of coal to create one pound of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), so 6 kg of coal 4. 127 GW of new solar capacity was added in 2020, which would require 127 GW / (300 W / 6 kg) = 2,540,000 tonnes of coal 5. Global coal production in 2019 is estimated at 7.9 billion tonnes, which is 3110 times more than is needed 6. The coal mining industry employed 42,117 people in the United States in 2020. Therefore if that number of people could be scaled down linearly with the amount of coal, to cover just the production needed for solar panels, less than 14 people would be needed to work in the US coal industry. [1] https://ecowowlife.com/solar-panel-dimensions/#300w_monocrystalline_solar_panel_specifications https://ecowowlife.com/solar-panel-dimensions/#300w_monocrys... [2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/05/23/if-solar-panels-are-so-clean-why-do-they-produce-so-much-toxic-waste/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/05/23... [3] https://solvoltaics.com/much-coal-make-solar-panel/ https://solvoltaics.com/much-coal-make-solar-panel/ [4] https://www.irena.org/newsroom/pressreleases/2021/Apr/World-Adds-Record-New-Renewable-Energy-Capacity-in-2020 https://www.irena.org/newsroom/pressreleases/2021/Apr/World-... [5] https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/minerals-mining/minerals-metals-facts/coal-facts/20071 https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/minerals-minin... [6] https://www.statista.com/statistics/215790/coal-mining-employment-in-the-us/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/215790/coal-mining-emplo...

He's not disputing that, he's disputing your "shell game" comment. It's not a zero sum, and solar panel creation is better in the long run compared to burning coal.

boredumb 5y ago

That's not what he quoted so I misunderstood. I was responding originally to the person insinuating that we need to find new jobs for people in the coal industry. Regardless of the energy returns, solar requires coal which would require people to work in the coal industry.

dane-pgp 5y ago
Just to put things in perspective: 1. A 300 W solar panel weighs about 20 kg 2. Approximately 90% of most PV modules are made up of glass, so let's assume (incorrectly) that the other 10% (i.e. 2 kg) is PVC 3. It takes three pounds of coal to create one pound of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), so 6 kg of coal 4. 127 GW of new solar capacity was added in 2020, which would require 127 GW / (300 W / 6 kg) = 2,540,000 tonnes of coal 5. Global coal production in 2019 is estimated at 7.9 billion tonnes, which is 3110 times more than is needed 6. The coal mining industry employed 42,117 people in the United States in 2020. Therefore if that number of people could be scaled down linearly with the amount of coal, to cover just the production needed for solar panels, less than 14 people would be needed to work in the US coal industry. [1] https://ecowowlife.com/solar-panel-dimensions/#300w_monocrystalline_solar_panel_specifications https://ecowowlife.com/solar-panel-dimensions/#300w_monocrys... [2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/05/23/if-solar-panels-are-so-clean-why-do-they-produce-so-much-toxic-waste/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/05/23... [3] https://solvoltaics.com/much-coal-make-solar-panel/ https://solvoltaics.com/much-coal-make-solar-panel/ [4] https://www.irena.org/newsroom/pressreleases/2021/Apr/World-Adds-Record-New-Renewable-Energy-Capacity-in-2020 https://www.irena.org/newsroom/pressreleases/2021/Apr/World-... [5] https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/minerals-mining/minerals-metals-facts/coal-facts/20071 https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/minerals-minin... [6] https://www.statista.com/statistics/215790/coal-mining-employment-in-the-us/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/215790/coal-mining-emplo...