Not Enough Silver For Solar Panels

Two thirds of an ounce of silver in every solar panel may not sound costly given today s silver spot price.

Not enough silver for solar panels.

The average solar panel actually uses about two thirds of an ounce of silver which is about 20 grams. Even after factoring in an assumed quadrupling of solar panel efficiency there is still not enough silver on earth to convert to a 100 solar powered economy. How much silver does a solar panel use. I expect solar panel use and therefore silver use to continue growing.

Without silver solar panels could not be as efficient in turning sunlight into usable energy. That might not sound like a lot but at around 20 an. Factors that affect solar panel efficiency. Demand set to peak at 83 mln oz in 2016 gfms 500 000 solar panels a day installed last year iea graphic industrial silver demand 2016 reut rs 2gywovv graphic solar demand for silver reut.

The average efficiency of solar panels falls between the 17 to 19 percent efficiency range. An average solar panel uses some 20 grams or 0 643 troy ounces of silver. Silver is expensive producers are looking for alternative sources. This spurt was mainly due to the record growth of the pv industry which pushed demand for silver as a component of silver pastes for solar cells from 79 3 million ounces in 2016 to 94 1 million.

Switching to 100 solar power is impossible there s not enough silver on planet earth. Silver is an important part of the solar panel industry. The highest efficiency solar panels on the market today can reach almost 23 percent efficiency. We might not have enough materials for all the solar panels and wind turbines we need we ll need to be mining a dozen times as many metals to meet demand for wind turbines and solar panels by 2050.

The debate over carbon emissions and the switch to green energy is usually fought over whether or not green energy is the best way to help the environment or whether it is a cost effective way of doing so.