A new study backed up by the United States Department of Energy was conducted in the hope for the experts to find the most efficient and reliable approach to utilize solar panels once they are depleted. The issue has been a topic for numerous research since today, and while many hypotheses are presented, there is still no dependable answer to the biggest and hardest challenge in the field of solar power.
Solar Power: Best and Worse
A general view shows the photovoltaic solar panels at the power plant in La Colle des Mees, Alpes de Haute Provence, southeastern France, on April 17, 2019. - The 112,000 solar panels cover an area of 200 hectares with a total capacity of 100MW.
Solar energy is among the few best bets of humanity against the catastrophic risks of climate change. Although the photons from the sun have been proven to be effective energy for most technologies and infrastructures, the device itself is not much friendly in terms of recycling.
The most powerful energy collecting device holds the most audacious threat that other 'green' mediums had already solved. According to a report by Girst, most of the defunct solar panels that are widely produced were either thrown on non-biodegradable dead-ends such as landfills or shredders.
With that said, experts from Arizona State University developed a new approach that would help experts and enterprises to reuse the panels that are no longer up and running. The method that the institute presented is through formulating new designs and economically attractive concepts based on the silver and silicon pieces of the device.
Just when the last quarter of the year hit the calendar, the team from ASU was granted two-year support of 485 thousand dollars for their solution to the solar panel issue. To develop the project further, additional experts from the energy department's Advanced Manufacturing Office collaborated with the scholars to get the best outcome of the solution.
According to a report by The Verge, the project could be presented and implemented as soon as the development is accomplished. The plan, which includes a pilot recycling plant, is expected to run for at least three consecutive years before offering the idea to other investors and the public. Alongside ASU and DOE, the private energy enterprise First Solar will also participate in funding and improving the recycling system.
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Recycling Solar Panel Proposed
In the report, DOE's Advanced Manufacturing Office expert and acting deputy director Diana Bauer said that above the country's performance on deliberating and developing potential technologies for clean and renewable energy, recycling the same devices, and reusing the infrastructures are becoming more important.
Although there has been a considerable amount of solar panel wastes today, experts exert their efforts to save what valuables remain in the devices, as the only thing that could be reused from the technology are frequently washed up and lost on mountains of trash in landfills.
ASU expert and author of the study Meng Tao explained that among the metals used to build solar panels, silver stands out. However, continuous tossing of these e-wastes on ecologically dead-end places could begin the shortage of the said metal. Solar-grade silicons are also considered the most exhausting to make. Using this type of silicon more than once could match the carbon footprints on manufacturing it, balancing the emissions instead of giving off excessive energy to waste.
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