Rare Earths In Solar Panels

If solar panels are so clean why do they produce much toxic waste.

Rare earths in solar panels.

High performance batteries need lithium which is only easily extracted from briny pools in the andes. Thin cheap solar panels need tellurium which makes up a scant 0 0000001 percent of the earth s crust making it three times rarer than gold. There are 17 elements classified as rare earths. Rare earths aren t really rare.

And despite their name they aren t actually that rare at all. Like many computer products from which solar panel technology is loosely derived solar energy systems often contain rare earths. Solar energy rare earths vietnam targets for and. It s just rare to find them in commercial grade ore.

We ve found a new source for rare earth elements need green. Rare earths hasting technology metals signs third offtake agreement. A new report by the french environment and energy management agency ademe shows that rare earth minerals are not widely used in solar energy and battery storage technologies. Thin film pv technologies for example contain potentially critical metals such as tellurium.

Currently marketed photovoltaic solar technologies do not use rare earths. In 2011 the average price of rare earth metals shot up by as much as 750 percent. 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. Of the commonly used batteries only nickel metal hydride nimh batteries contain a rare earth alloy on the cathode but.