Wind energy costs approach nonrenewable levels

I don't know what the longevity of solar panels is but it stands to reason that the raw materials in them can be recycled to create new panels when they reach the end of their practical lifespan. That alone is going to cut down significantly on the need to mine more raw materials for them.

The coal ash idea is amazing. Hope that works out too. But the more solar panels that are produced, the fewer we'd theoretically need in the future (provided the recycling process is "green")

On Saturday, February 13th, 2016 at 12:27 am, Doitsujin said:

Recycling coal ash to produce solar panels? That's quite poetic if we can get that to work!

As a personal interest of mine, while I wouldn't want to entirely get rid of the power grid, a decentralization of energy production and distribution would be fantastic for those of us who want to consider the ability to survive "off-grid" in the case of some type of emergency and for a general backdrop of self-sufficiency. A good set of solar panels should be in every prepper's set of gear (which reminds me... I should really get one too).

In other countries, decentralized power would prevent tyrannical governments from shutting off peoples' power as a control measure.

I think someone else mentioned earlier the possibility of using nanotechnology to produce solar panels out of more readily available and more abundant materials. That would be nice.

Indeed, it would be quite poetic! By the way, this is the article I was refering to:

user link on www.geologyin.com

I'm just curious (I'm not usually one of the science buffs around here but it caught my interest): Are these elements extractable from used coal or just from the mining process?