Transparent Solar Panels: Good or Bad?

By Chung Hyunhwa

In my previous article, I argued that using nuclear energy needs to end due to the fact that it requires a thorough nuclear waste management plan including permanent storage, the feasibility of which is in question here in Korea. However, I agree that we should manage the current nuclear power plants safely until they finish their lifespan because, practically speaking, we should not waste the money spent on them, and they can still be used as a transitional energy source while we replace them with safer means.

Worldwide, mainstream renewable energy sources are solar and wind. There have been projects in Korea to promote these since 2004. Now I see articles that say solar panels will cause a potential trash avalanche by 2040 when they will have been used for over 20 years. There are also articles claiming solar panels produce 300 times more toxic waste than nuclear power plants. I checked to see if these claims had any truth to them.

Following my search, I concluded the research used to support the latter argument was wrong. The cited research compared only the nuclear fuel rods with all of the waste from solar panels, which are not the right comparison targets. Solar panels are composed of glass (76 percent), plastic (10 percent), aluminum framing (8 percent), silicon (5 percent), and 1 percent of other metals. Out of the 1 percent of other metals, 4 percent is considered to be toxic material such as mercury and tin. If so, it is not logical to compare this amount of heavy metals to nuclear waste that should be stored safely for a minimum of 10,000 to 100,000 years.

There is already a panel recycling center in Korea, but it is possible that a future onrush in panel waste exceeding the country’s handling capacity may happen. This means there should be a plan to deal with it, not that we should stop using solar power. The best recycling is to continue to use the panels as they are, so they can be either distributed to other buildings or homes and used at much lower prices, or they can be donated or exported to other countries with larger land areas that may have energy problems. (A solar panel’s efficiency decreases by 1 percent each year, which is down to 80 percent after 20 years of usage, but they will still work.) Another idea is that when thinner panels or film that have the same or better efficiency are developed, they can be applied to the old ones’ existing structure instead of dismantling the latter and wasting them.

I also searched a little more about new photovoltaic technologies that could help with maximizing land use. One easy option is to use building tops and road and highway sides. For example, imagine bike paths that have roofs made of solar panels. This would be good for bike riders to travel in the shade in hot summers and not get wet in the rain. More efficient panels would be helpful to realize these ideas, so that they can be installed anywhere. To my delight, I found an article saying a much more efficient film that picks up even reflected light is being developed, so we should all wait and see when that is released.

I also found transparent photovoltaic panels and shingles. Transparent products can be applied for more various purposes, such as windows, building walls, and greenhouses. These transparent photovoltaic shingles will improve the visual impact of traditionally dark solar panels and become a game changer. I especially like this idea because I am working in the horticulture area now, and transparent panels could be wonderful as a future material for greenhouses.

The climate changes we are experiencing make greenhouses more favored because it is easier to control plant growth using them. If transparent solar panels are used for greenhouses, the same piece of land can be used for agriculture and energy generation at the same time, doubling the income of the farmers. I was happy to find a bit of research saying that transparent solar panels and shingles do not negatively affect the plants growing beneath them.

Under the climate crisis, transparent solar panels can help lower our dependency on nuclear energy. We should admit that, even if nuclear power plants run without accidents, they are not the optimal energy solution because of the unmanageable, fatally toxic waste they accumulate every second. Things feel like they are changing slowly, but the climate is not. With this in mind, we should keep being creative to adapt to a world where there are fewer and fewer nuclear reactors and gather alternative ideas to support the energy transition to safer sources.

Sources

Crownhart, C. (2021, August 19). Solar panels are a pain to recycle. These companies are trying to fix that. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/19/1032215/solar-panels-recycling/

Gwon P. (2018, July 3). 태양광 패널에서 독성 폐기물이. Pressian. https://www.pressian.com/pages/articles/194255

Kim, J. (2020, August 31). 오래쓰면 중금석 녹아나온다고? 태양광패널 ‘괴담’의진실. The JoongAng. https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/23861174

Kim, Y. (2021, December 22). 태양광 쓰레기 문제풀릴까 … ‘태양광재활용센터’ 준공. The Hankyoreh. https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/economy/economy_general/1024119.html

Solartechadvisor. (2021, November 28). Use of semi-transparent solar panels in greenhouse food production. https://solartechadvisor.com/semitransparent-solar-greenhouse-agriculture/

The Author

Hyunhwa Chung is from Gwangju and currently leads Gwangju Hikers, an international eco-hike group at the GIC. She would like to be active as a voice for climate crisis issues. Currently, she is working in the horticulture field with a love for plants. Previously, she taught English at Yantai American School and Yantai Korean School in China, and worked for Branksome Hall Asia, as well as the Jeju school administration more recently. She received her master’s degree in TESOL from TCNJ in the U.S. 

Main photo from https://www.digitaltrends.com/home/soltech-glass-roof-solar-tiles-heat-homes/