Arsenic In Solar Panels

Environmental scientists and solar industry leaders are raising the red flag about used solar panels which contain toxic heavy metals and are considered hazardous waste.

Arsenic in solar panels.

Key ingredients in a solar panel include solar cells photovoltaic modules and semiconductors. Gallium arsenide is an important semiconductor material for high cost high efficiency solar cells and is used for single crystalline thin film solar cells and for multi junction solar cells. Off the top of my head with no attempt at actual calculations there will be more naturally occurring gallium and arsenic in household soil than would accumulate from broken solar panels on a. A new study by environmental progress warns that toxic waste from used solar panels now poses a global environmental threat the berkeley based group found that solar panels create 300 times more toxic waste per unit of energy than nuclear power plants discarded solar panels which contain dangerous elements such as lead chromium and cadmium.

Gallium arsenide solar cells can have roughly 25 efficiency rating with only one junction. To keep prices down though the company uses very small amounts of gallium and arsenic creating a layer of gallium arsenide only one micron thick. None of this poses much if any threat. Your weary solar panels contain arsenic cadmium silicon copper and everyone s favorite lead.

A solar panel converts the sun s radiant energy into electricity using photovoltaic cells commonly known as solar cells. In a recent article in the magazine electronic news gallium arsenide was tested on a germanium substrate. So you probably should get some expert advice before piling them up somewhere onsite. The first known operational use of gaas solar cells in space was for the venera 3 mission launched in 1965.

Arsenic cadmium telluride hexafluoroethane lead and polyvinyl fluoride are just some of the chemicals used to manufacture various types of solar cells. Templer421 shares an article from national review. Per epa parlance you re responsible for the storage of any toxic waste you generate from cradle to grave. Alta devices makes solar panels using gallium arsenide cells a more efficient material than the generally cheaper silicon based cells.