Just because a technology is green doesn't mean it's totally environmentally friendly. While the energy produced may be clean, the manufacturing and disposal can be anything but...
Solar panels are a prime example. They don't last forever, and after two decades of soaking up the sun they must be disposed of. The problem is that many of the materials in solar panels are toxic, and they start wreaking environmental havoc as soon as they are unloaded into landfills.
Polysilicon is a crucial component in solar panels and a serious environmental offender. For every ton of polysilicon produced, about four tons of silicon tetrachloride waste is created — and silicon tetrachloride has been linked to everything from crop failure to human respiratory problems.
In China, polysilicon production is big business. Environmental standards have lagged behind the economic progress. In a particularly ghastly example reported by The Washington Post, irresponsible dumping of silicon tetrachloride left an entire Chinese village blanketed in a poisonous white dust.
"It's poison air. Sometimes it gets so bad you can't sit outside. You have to close all the doors and windows," villager Qiao Shi Peng told The Post.
As the solar industry continues its growth, it's important to put some safety measures in place now to avoid horrors like those suffered by Mr. Shi Peng's community.
That's why the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) decided to release a series of Solar Company Scorecards to separate the environmental stewards from the most perilous industry polluters. The scorecards ranked solar companies on a series of environmental, health, and safety criteria.
The 14 companies covered in the reports voluntarily responded to a SVTC survey. Questions focusing on four categories: product takeback and recycling; supply chain and "green jobs"; chemical use and lifestyle analysis; and disclosure. SVTC assigned each category a number and scored the companies on a scale of 100.
As you can imagine, the results were mixed...
Calyxo, a German Solar manufacturer, answered all of the survey questions and took the top score of 90.
JA Solar, based out of China, took last place with a dismal score of 16. They refused to answer basic questions about green jobs and disclosure, which didn't bode well for their score.
The overall message is that the bulk of these companies still have a lot of work to do to shore up their green credentials.
Less than half of the responders indicated that they have money set aside to pay for the collection and disposal of spent solar panels. Only seven companies noted that they provide free recycling services for their products.
These results will be passed along to investors, consumers, and institutional purchasers so that they can make informed judgments about the solar companies that they do business with.
This is the first year that the SVTC has issued the scorecards. Their hope is that more companies will choose to participate next year and those companies who scored poorly this year will get serious about their sustainability practices.
You can check out the scores for yourself at www.solarscorecard.com.
Be Well,
Jimmy Mengel
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