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 (in

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...