Rare Earth Elements Solar Panels

To meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets under the paris agreement renewable energy production has to scale up fast.

Rare earth elements solar panels.

Using rare metals in solar panels. However recent research coming out of the netherlands has spotted a red flag to relying on solar panels as a panacea for global emissions problems. If solar panels are so clean why do they produce much toxic waste. Rees are used in everything from solar panels to electric cars.

Neodymium is a so called rare earth element a silvery metal with a very important role in renewable energy. Rare earth elements are used in everything from renewables to spacecraft and play a critical role in today s world. Experts have found that the rare metals required to build solar panels such as indium and tellurium are not in sufficient supply to keep up with demand. Due to environmental and foreign policy concerns they also have an uncertain future.

Thin film pv technologies for example contain potentially critical metals such as tellurium. This means that global production of several rare earth minerals used. We ve found a new source for rare earth elements need green. However a lack of rare earths does not mean that the components of solar modules are harmless.