Solar Panels Not So Eco-Friendly After All

[longknife]

Not just for destroying thousands of acres of land where wildlife once roamed free. Now endless acres of toxic waste from their production. And they still need carbon based fuel to operate properly in massive arrays.

Solar panel disposal in “regular landfills [is] not recommended in case modules break and toxic materials leach into the soil,” the Electric Power Research Institute determined in a 2016 study.

There is growing concern over the possibility of rainwater washing cadmium out of panels and into the environment. In Virginia, for example, a group of locals are pushing back against a proposal to construct a 6,350-acre solar farm in Spotsylvania County.

“We estimate there are 100,000 pounds of cadmium contained in the 1.8 million panels,” Sean Fogarty of Concerned Citizens of Fawn Lake stated to Shellenberger. “Leaching from broken panels damaged during natural events — hail storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. — and at decommissioning is a big concern.”

Who woulda thunk it?

More @ Green Activists Now Worried About Mountain of Toxic Waste from Their Solar Panels

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

The only solar panels I use ...

 

[HaShev]

Not just for destroying thousands of acres of land where wildlife once roamed free. Now endless acres of toxic waste from their production. And they still need carbon based fuel to operate properly in massive arrays.

Solar panel disposal in “regular landfills [is] not recommended in case modules break and toxic materials leach into the soil,” the Electric Power Research Institute determined in a 2016 study.

There is growing concern over the possibility of rainwater washing cadmium out of panels and into the environment. In Virginia, for example, a group of locals are pushing back against a proposal to construct a 6,350-acre solar farm in Spotsylvania County.

“We estimate there are 100,000 pounds of cadmium contained in the 1.8 million panels,” Sean Fogarty of Concerned Citizens of Fawn Lake stated to Shellenberger. “Leaching from broken panels damaged during natural events — hail storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. — and at decommissioning is a big concern.”

Who woulda thunk it?

More @ Green Activists Now Worried About Mountain of Toxic Waste from Their Solar Panels

That they worry about and not the expense and hazards of the batteries?

 

[Old Rocks]

Heavy metals and coal

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This article is part of the Coal Issuesportal on SourceWatch, a project of CoalSwarm and the Center for Media and Democracy. See here for help on adding material to CoalSwarm.

Heavy metal refers to any metallic chemical element that has a high density and is toxic or poisonous at low concentrations. Coal contains many heavy metals, as it is created through compressed organic matter containing virtually every element in the periodic table - mainly carbon, but also heavy metals. The heavy metal content of coal varies by coal seam and geographic region. A variety of chemicals (mostly metals) are associated with coal that are either found in the coal directly or in the layers of rock that lie above and between the seams of coal.[1][2]

Small amounts of heavy metals can be necessary for health, but too much may cause acute or chronic toxicity (poisoning). Many of the heavy metals released in the mining and burning of coal are environmentally and biologically toxic elements, such as lead, mercury, nickel, tin, cadmium, antimony, and arsenic, as well as radio isotopes of thorium and strontium.[3]

The electric power sector is the largest source of toxic pollutants in the United States, due to coal ash and coal waste, which contain toxins such as heavy metals.[4] Each year, the waste left over from burning coal generates 125 to 130 million tons of coal ash and coal sludge -- 40% of that waste finds it way into new products and 60% is stored in ponds or pits, which can present health and environmental risks if released into ground water.[5]Despite this, as of March 2010 coal ash is categorized as nonhazardous and is not regulated by the EPA.[6]

My, my, so you are so worried about 50 tons of cadmium?

 

[Old Rocks]

Not just for destroying thousands of acres of land where wildlife once roamed free. Now endless acres of toxic waste from their production. And they still need carbon based fuel to operate properly in massive arrays.

Solar panel disposal in “regular landfills [is] not recommended in case modules break and toxic materials leach into the soil,” the Electric Power Research Institute determined in a 2016 study.

There is growing concern over the possibility of rainwater washing cadmium out of panels and into the environment. In Virginia, for example, a group of locals are pushing back against a proposal to construct a 6,350-acre solar farm in Spotsylvania County.

“We estimate there are 100,000 pounds of cadmium contained in the 1.8 million panels,” Sean Fogarty of Concerned Citizens of Fawn Lake stated to Shellenberger. “Leaching from broken panels damaged during natural events — hail storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. — and at decommissioning is a big concern.”

Who woulda thunk it?

More @ Green Activists Now Worried About Mountain of Toxic Waste from Their Solar Panels

That they worry about and not the expense and hazards of the batteries?

Terrible worry about the toxic lead acid batteries. Oh, they recycle those? Maybe it would be worthwhile to recycle the batteries you are talking about as they are far more valuable for their concentration of metals than any ore you will get from the ground?