commentSolar Panels Offset Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Based on what you have seen and read about this project, how would you grade it? Use the stars below to indicate your assessment, five stars being the highest rating.
According to a study published in Environmental Science & Technology, the impacts of a rare greenhouse gas (nitrogen trifluoride, or NF3) used to make thin-film photovoltaic panels are offset in under four months by the emissions-free power generation of the panels.
The use of NF3 has come under scrutiny since scientists found atmospheric concentrations of the chemical were higher than expected and growing at 11 percent a year, according to Chemical & Engineering News; the chemical is also used in integrated circuit manufacturing. The new research offers hard numbers for one aspect of photovoltaic manufacture—but a complete life-cycle analysis, accounting for all environmental impacts from manufacture to disposal, is still lacking.
Copyright 2011 by BuildingGreen, LLC
|
|
Sign in to Comment
To write a comment about this story, please sign in. If this is your first time commenting on this site, you will be required to fill out a brief registration form. Your public username will be the beginning of the email address that you enter into the form (everything before the @ symbol). Other than that, none of the information that you enter will be publically displayed.