Posted on 09/14/2019 12:04:00 PM PDT by grundle
Last November, Japan’s Environment Ministry issued a stark warning: the amount of solar panel waste Japan produces every year will rise from 10,000 to 800,000 tons by 2040, and the nation has no plan for safely disposing of it.
Neither does California, a world leader in deploying solar panels. Only Europe requires solar panel makers to collect and dispose of solar waste at the end of their lives.
All of which begs the question: just how big of a problem is solar waste?
Environmental Progress investigated the problem to see how the problem compared to the much more high-profile issue of nuclear waste.
We found:
Solar panels create 300 times more toxic waste per unit of energy than do nuclear power plants. If solar and nuclear produce the same amount of electricity over the next 25 years that nuclear produced in 2016, and the wastes are stacked on football fields, the nuclear waste would reach the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa (52 meters), while the solar waste would reach the height of two Mt. Everests (16 km). In countries like China, India, and Ghana, communities living near e-waste dumps often burn the waste in order to salvage the valuable copper wires for resale. Since this process requires burning off the plastic, the resulting smoke contains toxic fumes that are carcinogenic and teratogenic (birth defect-causing) when inhaled.
The study defines as toxic waste the spent fuel assemblies from nuclear plants and the solar panels themselves, which contain similar heavy metals and toxins as other electronics, such as computers and smartphones.
That’s bad. Anything on windmill waste? Not profitable and costly
No one on the left cares, it’s their religion. It creates too much cognitive dissonance to acknowledge the truth.
The blades are a big problem and only last twenty years. No solution recycling.
Anything on windmill waste?
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Saw a article a few days back about windmill blades being a recycling nightmare as many are made of carbon fiber.
That had something on it a few days ago. You can probably google and find it. I’m too tired....sorry.
They are thinking of putting solar panels near me..... I learned they are made with cadmium..... when cadmium corrodes it makes cadmium bloom..... you have to send in the guys in the space suits to remediate it.... that crap is more toxic asbestos and Roundup combined..... no thanks
It’s always amusing to me to read of some libtard accuse us of “climate or science denial”.
I’ve caught more than one of them at that and then proceed to ask rather simple questions (to any real STEM grad) only to watch them proceed to regurgitate some (idiot) journalist’s take on the answer.
Then comes the blow.
Heh!
Liberal response...”So what!?
You mean those American Bald Eagle Mixmasters?
Oops.
Carbon bad. They should make them out if unicorn hair fibers....
“The Energy Collective article doesn’t clearly distinguish “waste” from “toxic waste.” So, wherever the phrase “toxic waste” appears in this post, it probably should have been written as “toxic and/or other waste products.””
Not all waste or toxic waste is the same nor do all waste products pose the same threat for the same period of time. The equivalency shown throughout the article is disingenuous.
And of course, this is only a part of the story. A very big issue in the manufacturing of solar panels is the release of nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) into the environment….. a chemical that the IPCC says is supposedly nearly 20,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas AND it has an atmospheric lifespan of over 700 years.
Well said. As I like to say it: never let the truth get in the way of the agenda.
No worries. I just find “carbon” friendly “solutions” are like Solyndra in the solar world, a con job pumped with tax payer dollars to make all this “green” energy sound palatable when it’s more costly, more environmentally dangerous and can’t stand( pun intended) to make a dent in the kilowatt hours necessary to do much at all.
windmills are also killing birds especially protected birds , and rare birds and still the left keeps their religion.
over 70 grand to put a 22kw solar system in “before incentives.”
no thanks
It’s also a waste of money...and I know our military bases have had to “go green” with the taxpayer green. Heh. wonder how much more they paid when the hurricanes went thru.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-49566130
Solar panels: Thousands of customers complain
“Many people took out loans to pay for panels on the promise they would save thousands of pounds in electricity costs and make money generating power.
“They say they have not had the expected savings, and the Financial Services Ombudsman has had 2,000 complaints.
“Barclays Bank has put aside £38m to deal with potential claims.”
exerpt
Yes:
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