Rare Earth Materials Used In Solar Panels

One of the issues confronting the solar industry is that many of the materials used to produce solar panels can be hazardous.

Rare earth materials used in solar panels.

Mining for rare metals is considered to be one of china s most polluting industries presenting potential disasters relating to contamination that threaten to cause a wide scale catastrophe. Are rare earths used in solar panels. Sawing silicon into discs for use creates silicon dust called kerf with up to 50 waste. By depleting earth of its resources solar energy is not sustainable as the components required are limited.

Rare earth metals hard to find materials with unfamiliar names such as lanthanum neodymium and europium are used in wind and solar energy projects but dwindling supplies could hinder a roll out of low carbon technologies and slow china s shift away from coal power. More clean energy means more solar panels wind turbines electric vehicles and large scale batteries. These compounds which are highly toxic when mined and processed also take a heavy environmental toll on soil and water. Researchers are now working to find alternatives to these critical elements or better ways to recycle them.

A new report by the french environment and energy management agency reveals some surprises about the use of rare earth minerals in the renewable energy sector. According to the analysis turbines and solar panels might be skyrocketing a bit too much. Some potential issues include. A shortage of rare earth metals used in everything from electric car batteries to solar panels to wind turbines is hampering the growth of renewable energy technologies.

But it also means more demand for the materials that make those technologies possible.