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ERoEI of solar panels is below 1
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Ferruccio Ferroni and Robert J. Hopkirk paper Energy Return on Energy Invested (ERoEI) for photovoltaic solar systems in regions of moderate insolation estimates the ERoEI of temperate latitude solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to be 0.83. If correct, that means more energy is used to make the PV panels than will ever be recovered from them during their 25 year lifetime.

    The findings of this single study suggest that deploying solar PV at high latitudes in countries like Germany and the UK is a total waste of time, energy and money.

    http://euanmearns.com/the-energy-return-of-solar-pv/

  • 6 Replies sorted by
  • nomadnomad

    And such installations are done to make us believe that we are not in trouble…

  • matt_gh2matt_gh2

    They just need to aim the panels better...they gotta face the sun directly to get the full benefit. Lol. Perhaps the tech can be improved over time to make them more efficient, less expensive, and worthwhile.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    I see investments in panels as very good idea. As you buy future energy at current energy prices. This is that ERoEI does not tell you. Even if it is below 1 you buy it now while it is cheap for you. And it will give you energy at much harder future time.

  • karlkarl

    The linked page has a section "Comparison with nuclear" that does not even bother to mention the cost and energy required to dispose of the nuclear waste produced. This seems like an awfully obvious hint to the political agenda of the writer.

    But one thing is for sure: Photo voltaic energy harvest is not the most cost efficient source of energy as of today. Wind power, for example, is much cheaper to harvest in Germany.

    Today, the price for electricity on the German spot market dropped to -€130 per MWh for about an hour (yes, that's a negative price). So there's still demand for more storage capacity, which is the reason why now some car manufacturers get into the business of storing electricity when it's cheap and sell it when it's expensive, utilizing aged/re-used batteries from cars.

    Ah, and btw.: Here's some propaganda from the pro-renewables front on pricing. :-)

  • 4CardsMan4CardsMan

    So, if the manufacturers operate on solar power in a sun-belt location, what's the problem? https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/solar-tsunami-what-happen-when-gets-20-pmwhr-nadim-chaudhry

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Although China's National Energy Administration has set target total installation capacity of 18.1GWp for PV power-generating stations to be established in 2016, local governments have not yet made administrative preparations to support the goal, and therefore domestic demand has not emerged, the sources noted.

    As a result, second- and third-tier PV module makers have been forced to decrease production substantially, with capacity utilization mostly dropping to below 50%, the sources indicated.

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