Renewable energy: photovoltaics approaching a crucial shift

Today, no one is unaware of the enormous impact of the energy sector on our environment. It is this fact that motivated the industry to focus on renewable energy, particularly solar energy. If the latter is indeed one of the star technologies in the field, one study points out that it is not a panacea; we need to think about the long term now to avoid being caught up in an industrial and environmental cul-de-sac.?

In any case, this is the conclusion of the work of Australian researchers at the University of New South Wales identified by ScienceAlert. They have been interested in the future of this sector and the challenges that must be taken into account in order to make it sustainable. And, as is often the case in ecology, at the top of the list is the problem of resources.

The demand will soon explode …

Researchers begin their analysis by quoting the work of their colleagues. They estimate that more than 60 TW of photovoltaic equipment should be installed by 2050. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to stick to current climate targets. This is more than 85 times the current global photovoltaic capacity, estimated at about 700 GW in 2020. The International Energy Agency (IEA) agrees that solar energy is expected to account for about one third of the world's energy production by 2050.

In the absence of revolutionary technology capable of changing the game, massive quantities of photovoltaic cells will have to be produced in the years to come. And that is where the problem lies, because even if they are a means of producing so-called "green" energy once they are installed, the environmental impact of solar panels is not exclusively positive.

. And aluminium requirements with

Indeed, as you go back to the beginning of the chain, you quickly realize that their production requires a significant amount of aluminium. Here, the concern is not the risk of shortage as is the case with rare materials; on the contrary, aluminum is an extremely common metal on Earth. The problem lies more in the extraction and processing of this metal.

Industrial aluminum is produced from bauxite, an ore that requires several refining stages. This begins with the removal of the other elements of the ore, which requires dangerous chemicals; alumina is then obtained. It still has to undergo extremely energy-intensive electrolysis and heating processes before obtaining pure aluminum. It is a sector whose environmental impact is no longer to be demonstrated.

But on the basis of the forecasts of the researchers and the IEA, this production will have to be increased massively in the years to come. To meet the demand, production will have to increase by more than five to produce nearly 500 million tonnes of aluminium per year by 2050, with all that this implies in terms of environmental impact …. This seems to be a bit paradoxical in the context of our climate objectives.

A technology for the future to sustain now

Does this mean that the solar energy industry is a vast trickery, a snake that will come back to bite its tail in a few decades? Absolutely not. Today, photovoltaics remains one of the most promising tools for getting out of this ecological mess. And with technological advances that continue to make solar panels more and more attractive, it would be wrong to deny them.

What the researchers are trying to point out is, above all, that there is no miracle cure for the situation in which we find ourselves. Each solution, however good it may be, also has hidden issues that it would be unreasonable to ignore. We must therefore remain clear and anticipate this shift now.

To make the most of this technology in the future, researchers suggest systematizing aluminum recycling. Indeed, its environmental impact is almost negligible compared to initial production. With a sufficiently developed secondary aluminium industry, it would be possible to approach this transition more calmly and make the most of this fabulous technology that will undoubtedly play a decisive role in the future of our civilization.

The text of the study is available here.