China Producing Solar Panels Affect On The Environment

China s solar panel production comes at a dirty cost.

China producing solar panels affect on the environment.

The last few years have seen growing concern over what happens to solar panels at the end of. When you use solar energy in your home you lower your overall greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide and you reduce your carbon footprint. Workers install a solar panel in jiuquan gansu province. Environmental scientists and solar industry leaders are raising the red flag about used solar panels which contain toxic heavy metals and are considered hazardous waste.

While solar panels are considered a form of clean renewable energy the manufacturing process does produce greenhouse gas emissions. At forbes michael shellenberger highlights another problem with solar energy. With recycling expensive. Solar panels have been heralded as the alternative to fossil fuels for decades.

This number is reduced when you consider solar panels that live in areas that experience dust or snow storms regularly. Fabricating the panels requires caustic chemicals such as sodium hydroxide and hydrofluoric acid and the process uses water as well as electricity the production of which emits greenhouse gases. Most readers have likely seen exciting headlines claiming we could power the world s energy demands multiple times were we simply to cover the sahara desert with a solar farm the size of china. It produces vast quantities of hazardous waste which are not being adequately dealt with.

Additionally to produce solar panels manufacturers need to handle toxic chemicals. They found that solar parks altered the local climate measuring cooling of as much as 5 degrees centigrade under the panels during the summer but the effects varied depending on the time of year. According to the us department of energy the lifespan of a solar panel will typically span 20 to 30 years depending on the environment where the panels are installed.