Solar energy

FALSE

In France and depending on sunshine conditions, it takes 1 to 1 ½ years for a photovoltaic panel to produce the energy needed to manufacture it.

The Energy Return Time is even below 1 year for the latest generations of panels, which use less and less material, for increasingly high power. However, the lifespan of a photovoltaic system is 25 to 35 years on average, and can be as long as 40 years. A panel can therefore supply 25 to 35 times more energy than it consumes during manufacture.

FALSE

A photovoltaic solar panel is essentially composed of glass, aluminum and silicon, which are easily recyclable materials. Theoretically, a panel is 94% recyclable. Current industrial procedures enable a recycling rate of 87% and a recovery rate of 90%.

The industry is perfectly organized around the eco-organization SOREN, which is responsible for collecting used panels and recycling them. Today, we recover the glass and silicon to make glass again, the aluminum frame, which recycles very well, and the silver metal, which is used for the electrical connections.

FALSE

The photovoltaic modules used today contain no rare earths. The main component is silicon, an element extracted from sand or quartz: it is used to make the cells that are sandwiched between 2 sheets of glass.

So-called thin-film technology uses rare and controversial metals (not "rare earths") such as indium and gallium, but they concern less than 10% of the French market.

FALSE

Silicon is the 2nd most abundant atom on earth just after oxygen and is readily available throughout the earth's crust.

Sometimes, due to strong growth in demand, there are demands in excess of the capacity of the plants that purify silicon. This is temporary and resolved by increasing the capacity of these plants.

TRUE on certain manufacturing stages

• Silicon purification: this stage is carried out in Norway for the majority of European panels.
• Photovoltaic cell manufacturing: carried out almost exclusively in China.
• Assembly: depending on the brand, assemblies can be carried out in France, Europe, Asia...

Projects for Giga Factories for solar panel production in France are being studied.

FALSE

A rooftop PV installation based on monocrystalline silicon panels emits an average of 30 gCO2eq/kWh (integrating the entire life cycle including assembly in China). Fossil fuel power plants (gas, coal or fuel oil) emit 500 to 1,000 gCO2eq/kWh).

The average emissions of the European electricity system were 231 gCO2eq/kWh in 2020, i.e. 8 times higher. The value for the French electricity mix is 103 gCO2eq/kWh, i.e. 3 times higher.

FALSE

This was true 10 years ago. The price of panels was so high that the cost of solar electricity was not competitive with the electricity grid. In 20 years, the price of panels has been divided by 100 and continues to fall, while their efficiency continues to increase, as does their lifespan.

Solar electricity costs between 5 centimes per kWh (50€/MWh) (for a large ground-mounted plant) and 16 centimes kWh (160€/MWh) for a small rooftop installation. Nuclear power from the latest-generation plants costs more than 10 cents/kWh (100€/MWh).

FALSE

Photovoltaic electricity production is subject to IFER, a tax levied for the benefit of local authorities. Part of this IFER is paid directly to the communes on which the photovoltaic power plants are installed.

Order of magnitude of the IFER: a 5 MWp ground-mounted installation brings in nearly €17,000/year to the local authorities, 20% of which goes directly to the commune. Other resources : Territorial economic contribution (CET) (made up of cotisation foncière des entreprises (CFE) and cotisation sur la valeur ajoutée des entreprises (CVAE)), taxe d'aménagement (TA), taxe foncière sur les propriétés bâties (TFPB) as well as direct aid from operators in compensatory measures.