Are Fossil Fuels Used To Make Solar Panels

In terms of environmental impact solar power is a much more optimal resource than fossil fuels.

Are fossil fuels used to make solar panels.

The sun provides a free and renewable source of energy. Even though solar power is a lot greener than fossil fuels it still has a carbon footprint 9 180 grams co2 per kilowatt hour although this is much lower than fossil fuel. For example every step in the production of solar photovoltaic pv power systems requires a perpetual input of fossil fuels as carbon reductants for smelting metals from ore for process heat. Outside the limitation that solar energy cannot be used 24 hours a day without a storage solution it is better than fossil fuels.

Although solar energy is a clean alternative to fossil fuels making the panels themselves can have a negative environmental impact. Workers install solar panels in california. State guide solar panels in pa. All products even products that make energy get made.

The ultimate way to compare solar energy to fossil fuels is by cost where solar has quickly caught up with its non renewable counterparts. In terms of reliable application coal and natural gas have the edge. Solar and wind power needs around 40 50 times more space than coal and 90 100 times more space than gas. Solar power captures the sun s energy by using photovoltaic cells and transparent photovoltaic glass to generate electricity.

Solar panels have little metal edges around the panels. Like the gigantic 30 foot tall 50 ton trucks that mine the coal to load onto the railroad cars solar panels get built in factories. Federal state and local policies need to recognize that natural gas and crude oil are necessary for renewable energy sources to exist and support and encourage their domestic production not punish it. Solar panels require a lot of manufacturing.

However the production of fossil fuels is a very dirty business says paul behrens. Do they take more energy to make. The best way to compare solar energy with fossil fuels is to compare costs where solar energy has quickly reached its non renewable counterparts. Solar energy still has a long way to go before it becomes the most popular renewable resource on the planet not to mention the most popular energy resource but its growing popularity is undeniable.