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California went big on rooftop solar. It created an environmental danger
- jaclaz 4y ago>The looming challenge over how to handle truckloads of contaminated waste illustrates how cutting-edge environmental policy can create unforeseen hazards down the road. To be fair, perfectly foreseen[0] but - for some reasons - ignored. >Beginning in 2006, the state, focused on how to incentivize people to take up solar power, showered subsidies on homeowners who installed photovoltaic panels but had no comprehensive plan to dispose of them. Now, panels purchased under those programs are nearing the end of their 25-year lifecycle. BTW, 2022-2006=16, quite different from 25. [0] when you have something that is rated as lasting 20-25 years, it is not difficult to foresee that in 20-25 years (actually much earlier than that, as the lifecycle estimates tend to be generous) there will be the need of disposing (be it recycling/refurbishing/dumping) of that something.
- rr888 4y agoAnyone have a video of a solar panel being pulled into pieces? I'm not sure if its straight forward or everything is bonded together.
- jaclaz 4y agoEverything is bonded together, basically it is (besides the frame) a sort of hot glue. But machines exist to disassemble them, example: https://www.npcgroup.net/eng/solarpower/reuse-recycle/dismantling https://www.npcgroup.net/eng/solarpower/reuse-recycle/disman...
- rasz 4y ago>The looming challenge over how to handle truckloads of contaminated waste clearly need to destroy it all as there is no cheap land anywhere, a desert of some sorts ... https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/how-long-do-solar-panels-last https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/how-long-do-solar-panels-l... "Amount of original output after 25 years 82.47-93.04%" I smell a cash for clunkers type of government waste coming