Page 452 - A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Energy Systems

464 A COmPREhEnSIVE GuIdE TO SOlAR EnERGy SySTEmS

Options to relieve this stress on the PV industry include increasing energy efficiency
in production at rates that offset the effects of decreasing ore grades, or improving the
ore grades themselves. This can be achieved through greater recycling efforts, switching
materials to those that are not energy intensive or constrained, or finding new resources of
high-quality materials. Interestingly, it is the third option to increase ore grades—finding
new resources—that seems to be receiving the most investment. Currently, there is a push
for plans and technology being developed for nASA to optically mine asteroids for mate-
rials [68]. In other words, using lenses in outer space to concentrate the sun’s energy to
such use as to mine different materials from asteroids. Another colossal endeavor to find
new discoveries is that for deep-sea mining of the ocean floor [69]. The other two options,
including recycling, are currently deemed uneconomical.

23.5 Conclusion

It is not just we that are made of “star stuff,” but our economy as well. materials are vital
to the economy, especially when it comes to those parts of our industries that we depend
upon for our energy, such as the PV industry. not just the availability, but also the energy
costs of developing such materials are very important. It is currently uncertain if we are
going to realize disruptions in very large scales of PV development from metals critical to
the industry, whether from depletion, competition from other industries, or uneconomic
energy costs. Assessing precisely how much material we have, especially secondary ores,
and also the energy costs associated with them is complicated as every mining operation is
different. Currently we are experiencing a rapid-upscale in global PV capacity installations
and there are some concerns over whether or not we have the materials or the production
capacity to keep up. Also, although PV modules are becoming more efficient at producing
electricity, the energy costs for securing the materials for development is increasing. So far
the efficiency gains seem to be outperforming the increased costs, but this dynamic needs
more study. One of our most critical and urgent needs if we are to achieve a better under-
standing of a future involving a continued rapid-upscale of PV electricity, is better informa-
tion about material availability in the long term and the energy costs associated with that.

References

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power generation, Energy 36(9):5640–5648, 2011.
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