Why We Use Silver In Solar Panel

Silver is an important part of the solar panel industry.
Why we use silver in solar panel. Efficiency of solar cells effects the number of cells solar panel will use. Silver in photovoltaics solar cells. That might not sound like a lot but at around 20 an. Shining a light on silver in solar.
Without silver solar panels could not be as efficient in turning sunlight into usable energy. Todays cells average about 17 mono cells get better efficiency will cost more. Why silver prices will rise. When doing that we get a figure of 5 62 million tons of silver given current solar panel efficiency.
Precious silver bullion metal we buy and sell here at sd bullion has more applications than virtually any other limited resource we use other than perhaps crude oil or fresh h2o. This area has grown rapidly in the last five years or so mainly due to concern about fossil fuels. Poly cells are less efficient less cost. A major and growing use of silver within the electronics industry is in photovoltaic applications.
This fact makes potential silver substitutes like copper and nickel phosphide inferior to silver in solar panels. Silver is expensive producers are looking for alternative sources. I expect solar panel use and therefore silver use to continue growing. Solar panel use is growing around the world and that means a lot of silver is needed for all the renewed ambition.
Solar for every gigawatt of solar power installed 80 metric tons of silver is required. Silver has long been viewed as an investment in its own right as an inflation hedge it is also widely used in the manufacture of semiconductors batteries various nanotechnology applications jewelery photography and in making solar photovoltaic cells. How much silver does a solar panel use. Aluminium can be rejected outright due to very poor conductivity for front contacts ob.
This concern includes their generally high prices the environmental impact of extracting and burning them and worries about the political stability of the. An average solar panel uses some 20 grams or 0 643 troy ounces of silver. Silver is used for collecting and conducting electrons generated to make useful current the two obvious choices for replacing silver are aluminium and copper. Silver s use for solar panel manufacturing is around 80 million troy ounces per year or currently about 8 of annual silver supply.