Megawatt-scale solar farms are currently the most popular form of renewable energy production in the U.S. and Europe.
However, there is a dark cloud with a potential silver lining on the horizon — most solar panels are produced in China with energy provided by coal-fired power plants. Some say that this makes the solar industry hypocritical and potentially one of the world’s most prolific polluters.
Coal-fired electricity is provided by China to solar panel producers at very low cost, giving them a competitive pricing advantage in the global marketplace. China also uses dirty power to produce more than 75% of the world’s polysilicon, a key material used in most solar panels.
The U.S. government is drafting a policy to favor purchase of solar panels that are made using cleaner energy in America. The European Union is expected to soon regulate the carbon content of solar panels sold throughout the 27-nation EU. These policies would not only promote decarbonization, but also help develop a growing solar energy manufacturing industry in America.