Solar panels are made
using polluting processes and are not recycled at the end of their useful lives.
FALSE
It is calculated that state-of-the-art photovoltaic panels generate the energy expended during manufacture within two years, whereas their useful life is more than 25 years, a period in which they will continue to generate clean, free energy.
Also, the main components of a photovoltaic panel are silicon, aluminum, glass and copper, so its manufacture does not suppose an especially polluting process that requires protection and safety measures beyond those for a conventional industrial process. Once the photovoltaic panel’s useful life is over, its components are classified as non-hazardous waste and are recoverable at rates of up to 95% or more.
Solar energy is useless at night.
FALSE
Evidently, solar plants do not usually function at night, in the same way that wind farms do not operate when there’s no wind blowing. But the progress in developing storage technologies and falling costs are making it possible, when there is no immediate demand, to store the electricity produced and supply it later, when the user needs it, even if that is at night or when there is no wind.
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