Is Silver Used In Solar Panel

Two thirds of an ounce of silver in every solar panel may not sound costly given today s silver spot price.

Is silver used in solar panel.

In fact more than half of the world s silver is actually used for industrial purposes as it is used in x rays low e windows and even solar panels. Silver is actually a primary ingredient in photovoltaic cells and 90 of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells which are the most common solar cell use a silver paste. Given that there are 1 000 000. Fresh off the presses is the renewables 2017 global status report we can see that global solar panel use is going parabolic.

Silver is used to make silver paste which conducts electricity out of solar cells. The average size of a solar panel is about 1 8 square meters. This spurt was mainly due to the record growth of the pv industry which pushed demand for silver as a component of silver pastes for solar cells from 79 3 million ounces in 2016 to 94 1 million. An average solar panel uses some 20 grams or 0 643 troy ounces of silver.

But silver s cost contribution to solar panels outweighs its proportional expense over virtually any other application it has other than perhaps jewelry silverware or in 999 fine bullion coin or bar form. It is estimated that it currently takes about 20 grams of silver to build an average solar panel. The reason for this is because silver is integral to solar panels. Solar panel use is growing around the world and that means a lot of silver is needed for all the renewed ambition.

Here s what it means for silver. Over half of the world s annual 1 billion ounces physical silver supply is used for industrial purposes like usage in solar panels and solar cells. Now more than ever silver contributes a critical role in the production of solar panels and solar cells that produce electricity from the sun s light radiation. As it turns out even solar energy wouldn t.

As such it is heavily used in solar panels with around 20g per panel which equates to around 6 1 of the total cost of the price of building each unit. A solar panel uses 20 grams of silver that cost about 15 per panel. Go to my profile and you can find all about solar panels material there.