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The Bay Area is a hotbed of solar innovation and manufacturing. But will this industry become a source of local pollution?
Solar and electronics have a lot in common because they contain many of the same materials, including the waste product silicon tetrachloride, cadmium, selenium, and the most potent greenhouse gas per molecule, sulfur hexafluoride, just to name a few. We have already begun to see and document the hazards of electronics manufacturing and disposal. Manufacturing is frequently outsourced to developing countries, where environmental laws are more lax. When they become obsolete, they make their way to toxic dumping grounds in developing countries, where poor people cut and burn out valuable materials, spilling contaminants into their water, air, and lungs.
Because solar is a young industry and the panels have a 20-year lifespan, these issues are not yet visible. But the industry is poised on the brink of huge growth. Solar energy is the most widely available renewable resource; every hour, enough solar energy strikes Earth to meet human energy needs for a year. And the number of solar cells produced has grown seven-fold over the last five years. Even in the United States, where cheap coal and an unfriendly regulatory structure has delayed solar progress, things are beginning to turn around. With the aid of the stimulus bill and other legislation that supports renewable energy and the increasing cost of fossil fuels, the industry is poised to grow quickly.
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition hopes that, with a little foresight and planning, the solar industry can avoid these pitfalls and retain its green cred.
The organization made its bones watchdogging pollution from electronics manufacturing in the Bay Area, mapping pools of toxic sludge underlying subdivisions on the Peninsula. The Bay Area is seeing a second boom, this time in cleantech. Tens of solar manufacturing companies are clustered here, including one that is building the largest plant in the world in our backyard. The range of technological innovation here is exciting and holds much promise for the future. Meanwhile, SVTC is keeping a watchful eye. Last year the group issued a report with suggestions for a just and sustainable solar industry.
Here are some articles I've written on e-waste for the New York Times.
But has this report fallen on deaf ears? What, if anything is the industry or government doing about it? There are now different types of solar with different materials required. Are some easier to reuse, recycle, or dispose of that others? Is SVTC overblowing the risk? Even if these problems remain unaddressed, is solar's environmental footprint still superior to, say, coal extracted through mountaintop removal mining? I hope to answer these questions while drawing public, government, and industry attention to these issues.
About Me I have covered the environment and energy for 10 years and have been freelance for six. My work appears in the New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Wired, Grist, World Watch and many other outlets. I regularly cover the solar industry and electronic waste issues and already have a good base of sources to begin my reporting. Follow me on Twitter (egies) to get updates on my investigation prior to publication.
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