Solar panels makes energy, but they take energy to make, too. And until about 2010 or so, the solar panels industry used more electricity than it produced, according to a new analysis. Now, the industry is set to "Pay Back" the energy it used by 2020 .
The study looked what went into building and installing solar panels all over the world, including every thing from home installations to solar farms, Says Michael Dale, a climate and energy researcher at Stanford University, in-a Stanford-produces video . He and a senior scientist, Sally Benson, thought that because the solar panels industry was growing so quickly, it might actually be using more electricity than produced. Instead, they found an industry at a crux.
"I think that this paper shows that actually the industry is making positive strides and it,s even in spite of its fantastically fast growth rates, it's still producing, or it's just about to start producing, a net energy benefit to society," Dale said.
Most solar panels manufactures now consume lots of electricity, usually pulled from coal or other fossil fuel-burning plants. Stanford news pointed to the example of meeting silica rock to obtained the silicon used in most panels. The melting requires electricity to fire ovens to a temperature of about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Solar panels energy balance is now tipping, however, because never technologies reduce that electricity consumption. For Example, some newer panels require less silicon, or waste less material in the manufacturing process. Researches are also looking to replace silicon with more abundant affordable elements, such as copper, zinc, tin and carbon.
Dale and Benson published their full analysis in the journal environmental science and technology.
[Stanford News via the Verge]
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