Serious Question: How many Watt hours are required to manufacture a solar cell?

Answer 1

People often say that this or that energy saving item uses more energy to make than it saves, and it is almost impossible to prove one way or the other. I say if it costs fewer dollars than the power is saves would have cost that it must NOT have taken more energy to build, because the builder would have had to pay for that energy and made that cost back from selling the item. But extremists say that the cost is not "properly" accounted, and say things like the cost of environmental damage from the production process should be given a dollar value and counted against the item. I say NONSENSE. It it saves $10 of power and costs $5 to buy, then it did not take more power to build than it saves. And solar cells do save more power than they cost to buy, eventually.

Answer 2

If an alternative energy source is cost effective, WITHOUT SUBSIDIES OF ANY KIND, then you can rest assurd that it will produce more energy than it takes to manufacture. The market will assure this.
Imbedded in the cost of just about anything is the energy used to produce the raw materials and the product itself.
I know this doesn't quite answer your question, but in considering a move toward solar energy, the bottom line cost-effectiveness will ensure that you are not falling for hokus pokus, arm-waving cost savings claims.

Answer 3

Difficult to say exactly because it depends on the type and size of the cell. It was claimed a few years back at http://www.tinaja.com that there had not yet been a solar cell that generated more power than was used to make it. Other people dispute this and say it is a three or four years to break even.

Answer 4

Theres 1 solar plant in the U.S. A. thats TOTtALY solar powered to produce panels. I'm thinking it's Solarex in Maryland.

Answer 5

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