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17 comments on Photovoltaic Contribution to UK Electricity

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Essex Land Rover Man on June 21, 2006 - 5:30pm Permalink | Subthread | Comments top
How much energy does it take to make a typical panel? The panel may last 25 years, but how much has the performance deteriorated by then? Or put it another way, can the panel produce enough electricity to produce another panel (together with a percentage of all equipment needed to make another panel) and still have enough energy left over to be useful?

As much as I would like to use PV, I am not sure on the energy EROI involved in making them and how do you make sure you have enough available energy in 25 years time to make the next batch.

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mikepepler on June 22, 2006 - 1:43am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Energy payback time can be as little as 18 months in sunny places, maybe a bit over 2 years in the UK. It used to be a lot worse, but the industry has been working hard to reduce the amount of silicon used per panel for cost reasons, and the side effect is the embodied energy has been falling too.
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17 comments on Photovoltaic Contribution to UK Electricity

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