Archive:000/Solar panel minerals - Revision history

Elie: Elie moved page Solar panel minerals to Archive:000/Solar panel minerals without leaving a redirect: Huge_refactor

2024-10-26T20:30:11Z

Elie moved page Solar panel minerals to Archive:000/Solar panel minerals without leaving a redirect: Huge_refactor

← Older revision	Revision as of 16:30, 26 October 2024
(No difference)

Elie: /* General estimates */

2023-08-24T21:22:15Z

General estimates

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:22, 24 August 2023
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	\|-		\|-
	\|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 />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.</ref>		\|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>		\|62% <ref>Silver reserves: 500,000 tonnes<br />https://www.statista.com/statistics/1114842/global-silver-reserves/</ref>
	\|}		\|}

Elie: /* General estimates */

2023-05-17T20:23:20Z

General estimates

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 |-
 |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>
+|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><!--
 |215% <ref>Copper reserves: 870,000,000 tonnes<br />USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2021</ref>
 |-

Elie at 17:37, 16 May 2023

2023-05-16T17:37:20Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:37, 16 May 2023
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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]].

	~~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~~.		'''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~~ 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 roughly what it would take to [[replace fossil fuels]] as an energy source.		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).
	<!--		<!--
	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
	-->		-->

	~~'''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 hope for scaling up some kind of "low-end" solar panel tech - perhaps crystalline silicon combined with mostly aluminium internal wiring.{{rn}} The solar efficiency would be lower but maybe still worth it.

	==General estimates==		==General estimates==

Elie at 14:27, 29 December 2022

2022-12-29T14:27:10Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:27, 29 December 2022
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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
	-->		-->

			'''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 hope for scaling up some kind of "low-end" solar panel tech - perhaps crystalline silicon combined with mostly aluminium internal wiring.{{rn}} The solar efficiency would be lower but maybe still worth it.

	==General estimates==		==General estimates==

Elie: /* General estimates */

2022-12-29T13:23:00Z

General estimates

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:23, 29 December 2022
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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>
	\|		\|215% <ref>Copper reserves: 870,000,000 tonnes<br />USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2021</ref>
	\|-		\|-
	\|Silver		\|Silver

Elie at 11:00, 29 December 2022

2022-12-29T11:00:01Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:00, 29 December 2022
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	\|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 />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.</ref>		\|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 />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.</ref>
	\|		\|62% <ref>Silver reserves: 500,000 tonnes<br />https://www.statista.com/statistics/1114842/global-silver-reserves/</ref>
	\|}		\|}

	==Thin-film technologies==		==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)''':		'''CdTe (Cadmium Telluride)''':
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	\|-		\|-
	\|Cadmium		\|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>		\|6.3 g/m<sup>2</sup>
	\|		\|394%
	\|-		\|-
	\|Tellurium		\|Tellurium
	\|6.5 g/m<sup>2</sup~~> <ref name="andersson" /~~>		\|6.5 g/m<sup>2</sup>
	\|		\|12188%
	\|}		\|}

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	\|-		\|-
	\|Selenium		\|Selenium
	\|4.8 g/m<sup>2</sup~~> <ref name="andersson" /~~>		\|4.8 g/m<sup>2</sup>
	\|		\|2571%
	\|-		\|-
	\|Gallium		\|Gallium
	\|0.53 g/m<sup>2</sup~~> <ref name="andersson" /~~>		\|0.53 g/m<sup>2</sup>
	\|		\|181%
	\|-		\|-
	\|Indium		\|Indium
	\|2.9 g/m<sup>2</sup~~> <ref name="andersson" /~~>		\|2.9 g/m<sup>2</sup>
	\|		\|41827%
	\|}		\|}

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	\|-		\|-
	\|Germanium		\|Germanium
	\|0.44 g/m<sup>2</sup~~> <ref name="andersson" /~~>		\|0.44 g/m<sup>2</sup>
	\|		\|8250%
	\|}		\|}

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	\|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? -->		\|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" /~~>		\|0.1 g/m<sup>2</sup>
	\|		\|625%
	\|}		\|}

Elie at 07:15, 29 December 2022

2022-12-29T07:15:42Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:15, 29 December 2022
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	\|-		\|-
	\|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 />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.</ref>
	\|		\|
	\|}		\|}

Elie: /* General estimates */

2022-12-28T14:29:18Z

General estimates

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
+|
 |}
 ==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

Elie: 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..."

2022-12-28T03:31:28Z

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..."

New page

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 [[rooftop solar|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==
{| class="wikitable"
!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