Do Solar Panels Take Less Water Than Coal

There are two interesting side notes drawn from the river network s report worth mentioning.

Do solar panels take less water than coal.

This has made pv recycling a bit of a challenge in the us. The 550 mw desert sunlight solar farm for example is one of the largest solar power plants in the world with 8 8 million solar panels covering six square miles. Although solar energy is a clean alternative to fossil fuels making the panels themselves can have a negative environmental impact. The overall greenhouse gas emissions involved in solar energy is still much lower than coal or natural gas.

All modern technology including renewable energy depends on the non renewable resources that make it possible. In japan india. A 2011 report showed that solar s carbon footprint averaged at roughly 85 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent co 2 e per gigawatt hour gwh while natural gas and coal came in at 499 co 2 e gwh and 888 co 2 e gwh respectively. So let s get this straight.

And we know that solar is getting more efficient over time. The big boom for solar installations. When solar panels do reach their end of their life today they face a few possible fates. Workers install solar panels in california.

And that is with solar at its current efficiency. So looked at energy generation over time the land footprint of coal is at least 20 bigger than that of solar. The more efficient solar becomes the less space it needs to generate each kilowatt. Although this process still consumes some water it s only 1 or 2 percent of the water necessary for coal and natural gas energy production.

In comparison a similar coal power plant would use less than a square mile though further down the food chain land is used for mining as well. For example every step in the production of solar photovoltaic pv power systems. Greenhouse gas emissions hazardous materials such as hydrochloric acid and acetone are also used in solar cell manufacturing. Solar panels are at least 20x better on the climate than coal kwh for kwh.

Law producers are required to ensure their solar panels are recycled properly. Because less than 11 of each panel has salvageable metals there isn t much money in recycling.