China Producing Solar Panels Affect On The Environment

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.

China producing solar panels affect on the environment.

With recycling expensive. Et although china may be a cheaper place than europe for. China faces this dilemma plus an even more significant issue. 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.

China s solar panel production comes at a dirty cost. At forbes michael shellenberger highlights another problem with solar energy. Solar energy is terrible for the environment in a number of ways including the fact that large land areas must be devoted to it. Solar panels have been heralded as the alternative to fossil fuels for decades.

It produces vast quantities of hazardous waste which are not being adequately dealt with. 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. 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. The last few years have seen growing concern over what happens to solar panels at the end of.

Additionally to produce solar panels manufacturers need to handle toxic chemicals. Workers install a solar panel in jiuquan gansu province. This number is reduced when you consider solar panels that live in areas that experience dust or snow storms regularly.