Mensajepor Matu84 » Lun Nov 09, 2020 8:23 pm
Solar Panels and Silver Supply
Solar panels require silver as a conductor, silver being the most conductive metal, superior to copper,
aluminum and gold. Merely to replace today’s U.S. electric power production capacity with solar panels
would require at least 4.25x the today’s global annual silver mining production.
− One megawatt of electricity requires roughly 5,000 solar panels (based on a typical 200-watt solar
panel), without allowance for the average 25% capacity factor for utility-scale solar power in the U.S.
− The U.S. produces 1,100,546 megawatts of electricity7
.
− A 200-watt solar panel presently uses 20 grams, or 0.643 troy ounces, of silver.
− One megawatt of solar-panel power would therefore require 5,000 x 1,100,546 panels, or 5.503 billion
panels.
− This would require 3.538 billion ounces of silver (5.503 billion panels x 0.643 ounces of silver).
− Global annual silver production is about 836 million ounces8