How Much Pollution Does Solar Panels Make

Solar energy has long been touted as better for the environment than fossil fuels.

How much pollution does solar panels make. Although solar energy is a clean alternative to fossil fuels making the panels themselves can have a negative environmental impact. Increasingly however there are fears that making solar cells might release more hazardous pollution than fossil. The overall greenhouse gas emissions involved in solar energy is still much lower than coal or natural gas. If a car is necessary for travel consider.

The international renewable energy agency irena in 2016 estimated there was about 250 000 metric tonnes of solar panel waste in the world at the end of that year. A hazard summary of cadmium compounds produced by the epa points out that exposure to cadmium can lead to serious lung irritation and long lasting impairment of pulmonary functions. Based on installed capacity and power related weight we can estimate that by 2016 photovoltaics had spread about 11 000 tons of lead and about 800 tons of cadmium. A 2011 report showed that solar s carbon footprint averaged at roughly 85 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent co2e per gigawatt hour gwh while natural gas and coal came in at 499 co2e gwh and 888 co2e gwh respectively.

Workers install solar panels in california.