The big eco lie: Solar panels produce five TIMES more carbon dioxide than previously thought, report...
Solar panels release five times more carbon dioxide than previously thought, according to a new report. An Italian researcher made the claims after finding a database that world institutions use to calculate global carbon footprint projections omits emissions from China, which produces 80 percent of solar panels worldwide. China is known to use coal-burning plants in manufacturing, which has dropped the price of technology for Americans and other Western countries. Without data from China, the Intergovernmental Panel on (IPCC) claims the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry emissions are 48 gCO2/kWh. However, the new analysis suggests that the number is closer to 170 and 250 gCO2/kWh - 62.5 percent as much carbon dioxide emissions as natural gas electricity generation. Most solar cells comprise silicon semiconductors, glass, and metals like silver, copper, indium and tellurium. However, some are designed with battery storage, which includes the use of lithium. Gathering silicon and glass has no environmental impact, but mining metals create greenhouse gas emissions and lead to soil, water and air pollution, reports. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) set a target for solar energy to account for 30 percent of energy generation in the US by 2030. If the target is met, more than one billion solar panels will be spread across the US - and a majority will come from China. '[The data] showed how much solar photovoltaic systems used in terms of raw materials: silicon, aluminum, copper, glass, steel and silver. Then I saw the carbon footprint. It just seemed way too small,' he told . Environmental Progress is a California-based environmental group founded by Michael Shellenberger, who was a Democratic candidate for governor in the 2018 California gubernatorial election. 'According to Mariutti's findings, the carbon intensity of solar panels manufactured in China and installed in European countries like Italy was off by an order of magnitude,' according to Environmental Progress. A 2022 study by scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado determined that emissions per module produced were twice as high in China than in the US for crystalline silicon modules and some four times as high for Cadmium Telluride thin-film modules - a type of solar cell. A Clean Energy Buyers Institute report also shared a stark warning about China gaining dominance in the PV industry. Research determined that if the nation grows in solar manufacturing, the world will see up to 18 billion tons more carbon emissions by 2040, all related to the PV industry. And the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that 'the world will almost completely rely on China for the supply of key building blocks for solar panel production through 2025.' The US, Japan and Germany once dominated the solar panel manufacturing industry. However, regulations on coal use pushed the three powerhouses behind, letting China, which does not have guidelines take the top spot. Chinese firms rely on coal-powered electricity in Xinjiang to manufacture critical raw materials like polysilicon, a high-purity form of silicon. 'In 2014, they calculated the carbon intensity of PV energy as if the panels were made in Europe, with low-carbon energy,' Mariutti told Environmental Progress, referring to data compilers. 'By 2016 calculations started to appear as if the panels were made in China, i.e. supposedly with carbon-intensive energy.' Mariutti found that calculations always sat around do not account for silicon mining, toxic panel waste and the albedo effect. 'According to the IEA, when taken into proper account, the first two factors alone could more than triple the 'payback period' for panels, i.e., the time before they become carbon neutral after installation,' Environmental Progress reports. 'Why is the IEA not being transparent about its sources and the gaps in the data?' asked Mariutti. 'A hasty transition to solar and other renewables without cast-iron proof of the benefits, all the while handing control to China, could be a huge error.'