{"id":1633,"date":"2012-05-16T13:21:29","date_gmt":"2012-05-16T03:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=1633"},"modified":"2018-03-19T13:46:11","modified_gmt":"2018-03-19T03:16:11","slug":"solar-panel-energy-payback-whats-the-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-energy-payback-whats-the-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar panel energy payback: What&#8217;s the truth?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-energy-payback-whats-the-truth\/kreislauf\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1640\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1640\" title=\"lifecycle\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/loop.jpg\" alt=\"a loop\" width=\"346\" height=\"346\" \/><\/a>One of the myths that gets bandied about a lot is the idea that it takes more energy to create a solar panel:\u00a0 through mining, transport, manufacturing and distribution, than will ever be generated by that solar panel over its lifetime.<\/p>\n<p>20 years ago that was a valid argument against solar power. However in 2012 that myth is pure BS. Hopefully this post can set the record straight.<\/p>\n<p><strong><!--more-->How much Energy is required to make a solar power system?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The process of creating solar panels, like any manufacturing process, requires a number of inputs.\u00a0 The fundamental ingredients that make up a solar cell include the minerals silicon, aluminium and gallium. These must be mined, smelted and transported to the factory where they are assembled into a complete solar panel.\u00a0 After assembly the solar panel must be transported to a local, Australian distributor, then onto the installers and finally your roof.<\/p>\n<p>And don&#8217;t forget that there is more to a solar system than just the panel. More energy is consumed in the manufacture of the wiring and the inverter.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew Moore from <a title=\"PE International\" href=\"http:\/\/www.pe-international.com\/australia\/index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PE International<\/a>, in a 2010 Australian study found that the production of the solar panels account for 85% of the manufacturing energy that goes into a solar system.\u00a0The solar inverter amounted for 7% of the energy and the framing and wiring 4%.\u00a0The remaining 4% came from transport.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Feeling guilty about shipping your premium solar panels over from Germany?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t! To ship a panel from Germany to Australia only adds 2% to the energy required to make a complete solar system compared with getting a locally made panel!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>What is the energy payback period?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>All this talk of mining, smelting and transportation has probably got you wondering how those panels on your roof could possibly pay back the energy made to produce them. Well, get this: our pal Moore found that PV systems installed in Australian cities paid back their energy debt accrued in production in <strong>1.7 to 2.3 years<\/strong> depending on which city they were installed in. \u00a0A solar panel installed in sunny <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/installers\/perth\/\">Perth<\/a> would pay back in 1.7 years. In not-so-sunny <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/installers\/hobart\/\">Hobart<\/a> it would take 2.3 years. I reckon those are pretty good numbers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How much Greenhouse Gas is emitted per kWh of solar electricity produced?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Moore also calculated that, taking into account the energy used in manufacture, \u00a0electricity from solar panels emitted 96% less greenhouse gas than grid electricity that is generated from coal.<\/p>\n<p>So there you have it &#8211; solar power really does make sense from a whole-of-lifecycle perspective. And your average solar panel system produces less CO2 averaged over its lifetime than your farting cat (probably).<\/p>\n<p>And as technology improves and the efficiencies of the solar cells increases, the energy paybacks are only going to get better.<\/p>\n<p>If you going solar now you really are contributing to a virtuous circle. Buying solar supports the ongoing development of the technology &#8211; which increases the performance and reduces the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-energy-payback-whats-the-truth\/\">cost of solar panels<\/a> in the future. Someone should tell Clive Palmer and his pals&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><strong>References:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bourzac, K. (2009). Mining Fool&#8217;s Gold for Solar. <em>Technology Review<\/em>, <em>112<\/em>(6), 80-82.<\/p>\n<p>Moore, A. (2010). The solar lifecycle test. <em><a title=\"Renew magazine\" href=\"http:\/\/renew.org.au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ReNew<\/a>. <\/em>109, 46-48.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the myths that gets bandied about a lot is the idea that it takes more energy to create a solar panel &#8211; than will ever be generated by that solar panel over its lifetime. Read this post to discover the truth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[112,45],"class_list":["post-1633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-solar-panels-2","tag-buyers-guide","tag-global-warming","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Solar panel energy payback: What&#039;s the truth? - SolarQuotes Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"One of the myths that gets bandied about is the idea that it takes more energy to create a solar panel than it will ever generate over its lifetime.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-energy-payback-whats-the-truth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Solar panel energy payback: What&#039;s the truth?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the myths that gets bandied about is the idea that it takes more energy to create a solar panel than it will ever generate over its lifetime.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-energy-payback-whats-the-truth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-16T03:51:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-03-19T03:16:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/loop.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Finn Peacock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@FinnPeacock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-energy-payback-whats-the-truth\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-energy-payback-whats-the-truth\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Finn Peacock\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/495c35fb3086e6ef93220dcf2472b178\"},\"headline\":\"Solar panel energy payback: What&#8217;s the truth?\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-05-16T03:51:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-19T03:16:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-energy-payback-whats-the-truth\/\"},\"wordCount\":526,\"commentCount\":10,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-energy-payback-whats-the-truth\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/loop.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"buyers guide\",\"Global Warming\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Solar Panels\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-energy-payback-whats-the-truth\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-energy-payback-whats-the-truth\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-energy-payback-whats-the-truth\/\",\"name\":\"Solar panel energy payback: What's the truth? 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Solar panel conversion efficiency is the measure of how much of the sunlight that hits a panel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Insolight solar panels","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/insolight-solar-panel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/insolight-solar-panel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/insolight-solar-panel.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/insolight-solar-panel.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/insolight-solar-panel.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":97126,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-silver-reclamation-mb3354\/","url_meta":{"origin":1633,"position":1},"title":"Australian Ingenuity: Better Solar Panel Silver Recovery","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"January 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"University of Newcastle researchers state they have developed a super-efficient method for the recovery of high-grade silver from end-of-life solar panels. What Does The Silver Recovery Process Involve? The new method, described as \"fast, safe and highly effective\" uses a physical separation technique combining: Comminution \u2014 the process of reducing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar and the Environment&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar and the Environment","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-and-the-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar panels - silver reclamation and recycling","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solar-silver-recycling.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solar-silver-recycling.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solar-silver-recycling.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solar-silver-recycling.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/solar-silver-recycling.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":725,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/the-problems-with-thin-film-solar-panels\/","url_meta":{"origin":1633,"position":2},"title":"The Problems With Thin Film Solar Panels","author":"Finn Peacock","date":"December 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"If you are looking to buy a solar power system and have done any kind of research on the web, then you have probably \u00a0come across lots of people \u00a0arguing over the pros and cons of Thin Film Solar Panels compared to the more common monocrystalline or polycrystalline solar panels.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Panels&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Panels","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-panels-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Thin Film Solar Panels in a solar farm","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/thin_film_solar_panels_web.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":67656,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/jinko-renewable-energy-mb2715\/","url_meta":{"origin":1633,"position":3},"title":"JinkoSolar Closing In On 100% Renewables Goal","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"November 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Solar panel manufacturing goliath JinkoSolar says it is more than halfway towards reaching a commitment to power all its operations with renewables-based electricity. Back in 2019 JinkoSolar signed on to the RE100, which is a global initiative involving major companies committed to running on renewable electricity. Jinko pledged to power\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jinko - renewable electricity goal","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/jinkosolar-renewables-goal.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/jinkosolar-renewables-goal.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/jinkosolar-renewables-goal.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/jinkosolar-renewables-goal.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/jinkosolar-renewables-goal.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":69843,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/qcells-ja-tindo-solar-mb2789\/","url_meta":{"origin":1633,"position":4},"title":"Solar Panel Manufacturers Spreading Their Wings","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"January 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"There's been some interesting stuff happening at JA Solar, Qcells and Australia's very own Tindo Solar this week. JA Solar To Make Panels In The USA China-headquartered panel manufacturer JA Solar says it has leased space for its first module factory in the USA. The new facility in Phoenix, Arizona\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"QCells, JA and Tindo Solar","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/qcells-ja-tindo-solar-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/qcells-ja-tindo-solar-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/qcells-ja-tindo-solar-2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/qcells-ja-tindo-solar-2.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/qcells-ja-tindo-solar-2.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34922,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/risen-solar-warranty-mb1291\/","url_meta":{"origin":1633,"position":5},"title":"Risen Energy Solar Panel Product Warranty Boosted In Australia","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"November 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Risen Energy has bumped up the product warranty offered in Australia for rooftop installations of its solar panels from 12 to 15 years. The upgraded warranty applies to all crystalline and dual glass solar panels purchased after October 1. \u201cWe are confident in the reliability and durability of our products\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Risen Energy solar panel warranty","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/risen-solar-warranty.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/risen-solar-warranty.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/risen-solar-warranty.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/risen-solar-warranty.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/risen-solar-warranty.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1633"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20122,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1633\/revisions\/20122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}