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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==Thin-film technologies==
'''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> <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 <br /><!--XXX: does the URL need to be fixed? remove special chars?-->The paywall is a serious impediment to open analysis.</ref>
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|-
|Tellurium
|6.5 g/m<sup>2</sup> <ref name="andersson" />
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|}
'''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> <ref name="andersson" />
|
|-
|Gallium
|0.53 g/m<sup>2</sup> <ref name="andersson" />
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|-
|Indium
|2.9 g/m<sup>2</sup> <ref name="andersson" />
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|}
'''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> <ref name="andersson" />
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|}
'''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!-- I get a feeling this one might be outdated - seems likely that ruthenium could be phased out by now, since 'dye sensitized' doesn't sound like it would need a specific rare mineral.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> <ref name="andersson" />
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|}
==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

Revision as of 10:29, 28 December 2022

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 scenario involving 375,000 km^2 of solar panels globally (all suitable rooftops covered in solar panels), which is roughly what it would take to replace fossil fuels as an energy source.

General estimates

Mineral Quantity How much of global reserves would be needed in a rooftop solar scenario
Copper
Silver

Thin-film technologies

CdTe (Cadmium Telluride):

Mineral Quantity How much of global reserves would be needed in a rooftop solar scenario
Cadmium 6.3 g/m2 [1]
Tellurium 6.5 g/m2 [1]

CIGS:

Mineral Quantity How much of global reserves would be needed in a rooftop solar scenario
Selenium 4.8 g/m2 [1]
Gallium 0.53 g/m2 [1]
Indium 2.9 g/m2 [1]

aSiGe:

Mineral Quantity How much of global reserves would be needed in a rooftop solar scenario
Germanium 0.44 g/m2 [1]

Dye-sensitized:

Mineral Quantity How much of global reserves would be needed in a rooftop solar scenario
Ruthenium 0.1 g/m2 [1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 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
    The paywall is a serious impediment to open analysis.

See also

  • 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
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