Researchers have shown that solar panels are crucial to cleaning up the world's energy supply and that fears about solar panel toxicity are unfounded.
But one Redditor in r/conspiracy_commons sparked outrage with incorrect claims.
The original poster titled their post, "Solar panels are toxic," and stated, "From the manufacturing to breakdown, solar energy is bad for everyone."
They then shared a link to an opinion article highlighting chemicals used in solar panels.
This idea is one of a few myths that the oil industry sometimes pushes.
Solar panels provide clean, renewable energy, and their role in the clean energy transition is growing, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. While in use, they generate electricity without air pollution. Like any energy source, solar panels produce waste that must be recycled or disposed of properly at the end of their life.
By 2030, the EPA stated that the U.S. is expected to have up to one million tons of solar panel waste. That's not much compared to the 292.4 million tons of municipal solid waste generated in 2018. As the photovoltaic market expands, recycling methods are improving along with existing practices for electrical appliances and batteries.
The 2022 article shared by the OP mentioned toxic elements such as cadmium telluride and silicon tetrachloride in solar panels. Research published in Nature Physics, however, found that most solar panels today are made primarily of glass, aluminum, polymers, and silicon. Harmful materials make up less than 0.1% of the solar panels by weight.
The study indicated that modern panels are either crystalline silicon (about 97% of the global market) or cadmium telluride (around 3%). These do not contain dangerous elements like arsenic or gallium.
Researchers found no evidence that these materials pose significant health risks during normal use or recycling, especially compared to the toxic waste dirty energy creates. Coal ash generates 300 to 800 times more toxic waste than projected solar panel waste through 2050.
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Yes — everywhere 👏 As the industry develops recycling programs and longer-lasting panels, it's clear that solar power reduces pollution and waste. It also saves money. All technologies produce waste that must be disposed of responsibly.
Users in the comments quickly challenged the post.
One questioned the logic: "So by that logic humans are toxic as well and need to go?"
"Ok, so don't buy a house because…radon. Don't use propane because it is bad and can blow at any minute," another added.
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