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Solar panel minerals: Difference between revisions
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(Created page with "It takes minerals to make solar panels. Some minerals are scarce. This might be an issue if we want to scale up green energy enough to replace fossil fuels. What we need is a full chart of all minerals (and their quantities) involved in all solar panel technologies. Apparently this doesn't exist on the internet already, so we have to make it ourselves. The tables below are currently a work-in-progress. The 3rd column of the tables below is based on a sc...") |
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It takes [[minerals]] to make [[solar panels]]. Some minerals are scarce. This might be an issue if we want to scale up green [[energy]] enough to replace [[fossil fuels]]. | It takes [[minerals]] to make [[solar panels]]. Some minerals are scarce. This might be an issue if we want to scale up green [[energy]] enough to replace [[fossil fuels]]. | ||
'''Summary:''' | |||
* ''Thin-film'' solar panel tech is '''not''' scalable enough. The earth just doesn't have enough rare minerals to be mined. | |||
* There might be [[solar/challenge 1|hope]] for scaling up some kind of "low-end" solar panel tech - perhaps crystalline silicon combined with mostly aluminium internal wiring instead of copper. The solar efficiency would be lower but maybe still worth it. {{rn}} | |||
The 3rd column of the tables | |||
Below are ongoing tables of the minerals (and their quantities) involved in solar panel technologies. <!--Apparently this doesn't exist on the internet already, so we have to make it ourselves.--> The 3rd column of the tables is based on a scenario involving [[rooftop solar|375,000 km^2 of solar panels]] globally (all suitable rooftops covered in solar panels) (which is very roughly what it would take to [[replace fossil fuels]] as an energy source). | |||
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The list of minerals to consider, was inspired by https://palmetto.com/learning-center/blog/minerals-in-solar-panels-and-solar-batteries | The list of minerals to consider, was inspired by https://palmetto.com/learning-center/blog/minerals-in-solar-panels-and-solar-batteries | ||
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==General estimates== | ==General estimates== | ||
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|- | |- | ||
|Copper | |Copper | ||
| | |4990 g/m<sup>2</sup> <ref>Calculated from the statistic that there are 5.5 tons of copper for every megawatt(peak) of solar.<br />https://www.copper.org/environment/sustainable-energy/pdf/CDA-Solar-Infographic.pdf</ref><!-- | ||
| | |||
TALK: | |||
This is actually an underestimate. I think I forgot to factor in the efficiency of the solar panels. The real calculation should look like: | |||
{{calc | |||
| solar_panel.rq_copper_by_peak_power / sunlight_peak / solar_panel.efficiency | |||
| g/m^2 | |||
| copper_by_area | |||
}} | |||
{{calc | |||
| copper_by_area * rooftop_area | |||
| % copper.reserves | |||
}} | |||
Results are 29350 g/m^2 and 1265% of global reserves!!! | |||
Then again, if it turns out I misunderstood the original stat (maybe the source meant to say 5.5 tons of copper per AVERAGED megawatt???) then the result would be closer to what it is now. | |||
But all this brings us to another point: | |||
REFACTOR?: Maybe a lot more of this page should be refactored into the calculator format. But I still want to combine it nicely with the existing table format. | |||
Option 1: Think of a simple writing style that integrates both. | |||
Option 2: Code up a whole new system that integrates both. It would act almost like a spreadsheet! First I should write up a new wikipage outlining the requirements, and use-cases (i.e. examples of wikipages that would benefit from it). | |||
Note: In either case, for this page, if I go with this refactor: Keep all the identifiers short: Don't include the prefix "solar_panel.rq_..." | |||
Additional benefit of refactoring: gets rid of the numbered references - avoids distracting the reader from the numbers we actually care about. | |||
--> | |||
|215% <ref>Copper reserves: 870,000,000 tonnes<br />USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2021</ref> | |||
|- | |- | ||
|Silver | |Silver | ||
| | |0.82 g/m<sup>2</sup> <ref>Grandell, Leena & Thorenz, Andrea, 2014. "Silver supply risk analysis for the solar sector," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 157-165.<br />Quote: <q>"This estimate is based on a very low silver content (0.82 g/m^2), which already reflects a technical approach to reduce silver consumption, such as the 'wrap through technology' or substitution of silver with copper, both of which are currently in development stage."</q><br /><small>{{light|Note: Since the article is from 2014, maybe lower-silver options are available now. Also, the article doesn't really specify which solar panel technologies use this amount of silver.}}</small></ref> | ||
| | |62% <ref>Silver reserves: 500,000 tonnes<br />https://www.statista.com/statistics/1114842/global-silver-reserves/</ref> | ||
|} | |||
==Thin-film technologies <ref name="andersson">Materials Availability for Large-scale Thin-film Photovoltaics - Bjorn A. Andersson - First published in 2000 / Modified in 2020 - https://doi.org/10.1002/%28SICI%291099-159X%28200001%2F02%298%3A1%3C61%3A%3AAID-PIP301%3E3.0.CO%3B2-6</ref>== | |||
'''CdTe (Cadmium Telluride)''': | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
!Mineral | |||
!Quantity | |||
!How much of global reserves would be needed in a [[rooftop solar]] scenario | |||
|- | |||
|Cadmium | |||
|6.3 g/m<sup>2</sup> | |||
|394% | |||
|- | |||
|Tellurium | |||
|6.5 g/m<sup>2</sup> | |||
|12188% | |||
|} | |} | ||
'''CIGS''': | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
!Mineral | |||
!Quantity | |||
!How much of global reserves would be needed in a [[rooftop solar]] scenario | |||
|- | |||
|Selenium | |||
|4.8 g/m<sup>2</sup> | |||
|2571% | |||
|- | |||
|Gallium | |||
|0.53 g/m<sup>2</sup> | |||
|181% | |||
|- | |||
|Indium | |||
|2.9 g/m<sup>2</sup> | |||
|41827% | |||
|} | |||
'''aSiGe''': | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
!Mineral | |||
!Quantity | |||
!How much of global reserves would be needed in a [[rooftop solar]] scenario | |||
|- | |||
|Germanium | |||
|0.44 g/m<sup>2</sup> | |||
|8250% | |||
|} | |||
'''Dye-sensitized''': | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
!Mineral | |||
!Quantity | |||
!How much of global reserves would be needed in a [[rooftop solar]] scenario | |||
|- | |||
|Ruthenium<!-- I get a feeling this one might be outdated - seems likely that ruthenium could be phased out by now, since 'dye sensitized' doesn't sound like it would need a specific rare mineral. Keep in mind that the paper was published in 2000, and although it was updated in 2020, maybe they kept this just because it was the only row? Idk just a wild guess. More research needed? --> | |||
|0.1 g/m<sup>2</sup> | |||
|625% | |||
|} | |||
==References== | |||
<references /> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* [[Energy to make solar panels]] - EROI or energy payback time - and its tradeoff against mineral intensity. Page is not made yet. | * [[Energy to make solar panels]] - EROI or energy payback time - and its tradeoff against mineral intensity. Page is not made yet. | ||
* [[Minerals]] - contains the data on global mineral reserves | * [[Minerals]] - contains the data on global mineral reserves | ||