Solar panel minerals
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 |
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