Life cycle analysis by the Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, IL shows that Chinese solar panels have twice the carbon footprint when their production process is fueled by coal plants, compared to equivalent units produced in Europe. “Life cycle analysis tallies up all the energy used to make a product—energy to mine raw materials, fuel to transport the materials and products, electricity to power the processing factory,” explains Argonne’s Louise Lerner. “Assuming that a solar panel is made of silicon—by far the most common solar panel material—and is installed in sunny southern Europe, a solar panel made in China would take about 20 to 30% longer to produce enough energy to cancel out the energy used to make it. The carbon footprint is about twice as high.” The analysis pointed to lower environmental and efficiency standards in China, as well as its high dependency on fossil fuels to generate electricity.
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