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Comments
Impact of solar power on water |
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by Susmita Adhikari | 14-03-2020 16:06 0 |
To begin at the beginning, the production of solar panels is no different to any other production processes: water plays a role in producing certain components such as the production of photovoltaic units.
However, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, while solar uses less water, the chemicals used in the manufacturing process are caustic and toxic. There is always the risk of some kind of spill which could result in these chemicals leeching into the soil and contaminating ground water. To be fair, that is a risk that is not unique to solar panel manufacturers.
The effect of domestic or small-scale solar power usage
Photovoltaic solar power such as the panels installed on the roof of a home use no water at all in order to generate electricity. The only water that is used at all is if the panels themselves need to be washed so that their efficiency is improved. That¡¯s it! It is in terms of large solar power facilities that the impact on water becomes more significant and of greater concern in terms of the green credentials of solar. The Solar Energy Development Programmatic IES points out several important areas of concern when it comes to these plants:
To offset this less rosy view, one does well to remember that photovoltaic power plants consume only one hundredth of the volume of water used by fossil fuel plants for day-to-day operations! In addition, there are potential solutions for the problems Possible solutions to reduce the impact on water resources of solar plants
As is so often the case, there are broadly two options when it comes to reducing the impact solar has on water: improve or modify existing technologies or develop new ones. In terms of solar power plants there are developments in both areas. For the large plants there is a growing move towards more efficient wet or water cooling systems and technology. In addition, research and development is underway in terms of dry cooling and also wet-recirculating systems and cooling towers. While these reduce water consumption dramatically, the down sides are a loss of efficiency in terms of megawatt per hour production and increased production costs.
The unknown: the impact of the disposal of damaged or decommissioned panels
There is no disagreement that many photovoltaic cells, especially thin-film cells, contain a cocktail of hazardous chemicals. While the cell is healthy and in use it poses no risk at all. However, solar power is still in its infancy and the cells and panels that were made and sold in the 1970¡¯s are still in use. What will happen when cells are damaged and old? How will they be recycled or disposed of? These concerns are also expressed by The Solar Action Alliance. |
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20 Comments
thank you
Posted 18-08-2020 13:51
Greetings Susmita,
Everything comes with pros and cons. I think the pros outweigh the cons in the case of Solar power!
Thanks for sharing,
Regards,
Ajaya Poudel
Posted 20-04-2020 00:24
Amazing , thanks for sharing
Posted 31-03-2020 01:13
Greetings
I do hope everything is going well..
Thank you so much for sharing this report!!
Keep writing and sharing!!
Green cheers
Regards
Jasmine karki
Posted 30-03-2020 19:30
Thanks for your report.
Posted 27-03-2020 00:35
Thanks for report
Posted 26-03-2020 10:53
Hello sushmita
Keep writing and shining
Regards
Prakriti Ghimire
Posted 22-03-2020 14:03
Hello susmita
Good report
Keep writing
Green cheers!!
Posted 21-03-2020 22:55
Hello susmita
I hope you are doing well!
Nice report
Keep writing
Thank you so much for this report!
Looking forward to reading some more reports.
Green cheers!
Best regards
Hema
Posted 19-03-2020 11:33
Nice Report Susmita
Posted 18-03-2020 16:08
Thank you @ meena dee
Posted 16-03-2020 16:26
Thank you @ pooja dee
Posted 16-03-2020 16:26
Hello Susmita!!
I hope you are fine and doing great.
As Solar energy is perpetual sources of energy , it is really useful for us and it has a lot of impact on water energy too.
Keep writing and shining.
Hope to know more from you.
Warm regards,
Meena
GREEN CHEERS
Posted 16-03-2020 15:18
Well written Susmita. Thank you for the information about Solar Power Usage.
Best regards!!!
Posted 16-03-2020 14:49
Thank you @susmita
Posted 16-03-2020 12:48
Thank you @Basanta
Posted 16-03-2020 12:48
Thank you @shreya dee
Posted 16-03-2020 12:48
Hello Susmita,
I hope you are good
Thank you for sharing information about the photovaltic solar power and its eficiency.Its little drawbacks can be considered when so many benefits are seen.
Thank you for your report.
Keep Writing,
Green Cheers:-)
Posted 16-03-2020 10:27
Greetings susmita
I hope you are doing well
Thank you so much for this report.
I hope to read more from you.
Keep up with great works
Green cheers
Regards
Basanta
Posted 16-03-2020 10:10
Greetings Susmita
I hope you are doing well
Good report
Thank you so much for this report
Keep writing
Regards
Sus
Posted 15-03-2020 15:21