Even Short-Lived Solar Panels Can Be Economically Viable

A new study shows that, contrary to widespread belief within the solar power industry, new kinds of solar cells and panels don’t necessarily have to last for 25 to 30 years in order to be economically viable in today’s market.

Rather, solar panels with initial lifetimes of as little as 10 years can sometimes make economic sense, even for grid-scale installations — thus potentially opening the door to promising new solar photovoltaic technologies that have been considered insufficiently durable for widespread use.

The new findings are described in a paper in the journal Joule, by Joel Jean, a former MIT postdoc and CEO of startup company Swift Solar; Vladimir Bulović, professor of electrical engineering and computer science and director of MIT.nano; and Michael Woodhouse of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado.

“When you talk to people in the solar field, they say any new solar panel has to last 25 years,” Jean says. “If someone comes up with a new technology with a 10-year lifetime, no one is going to look at it. That’s considered common knowledge in the field, and it’s kind of crippling.”

Read more at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

read more/source: https://www.enn.com/articles/59852-even-short-lived-solar-panels-can-be-economically-viable

Related Posts

Seaman Paper partners with NGO Canopy

As more and more companies begin their transition from plastic packaging to fiber-based or paper packaging, we recognize the importance of sourcing these fibers as responsibly as possible to protect and conserve Ancient and Endangered Forests. At Seaman Paper, we believe that sustainable business leadership is a fundamental component of long-term transformation, which is why we are excited to officially be a Canopy Pack4Good partner. Canopy is an environmental non-profit organization working with hundreds of companies through robust sourcing policies to reduce the impact on the world’s Ancient and Endangered Forests – which are critical to biodiversity, carbon sequestration, clean drinking water, wildfire risk reduction, and the well-being of indigenous communities.

New certification bodies accredited against FSC standards

Assurance Services International (ASI) has accredited two new certification bodies, GCL International Ltd. (GCL) and Legallis certification to audit and issue FSC certificates. The two certification bodies were each evaluated by ASI and demonstrated their ability to conduct impartial assessments to issue FSC certificates according to the established criteria. Legallis will be able to audit and issue: *forest management certificates in the Ukraine and, *chain of custody certificates worldwide, excluding Belarus, China, United States of America and Canada. GCL will be able to audit and issue FSC chain of custody certificates (excluding controlled wood) worldwide, excluding Belarus and China.

APP statement on Rainforest Alliance’s evaluation of The Forest Trust/Ata Marie wood supply study

The TFT and Ata Marie study was useful in verifying the foundational data of our existing supply chain and helping to identify some of the challenges and opportunities facing the business in the years ahead. We agree with the Rainforest Alliance that the future fibre supply of a business cannot be entirely predicted on the basis of one report, and that the work to ensure that our plantations are efficient and productive, as documented in our FCP Implementation Plan 2015 and Beyond, must be an ongoing priority.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search