09-20-2008, 10:01 PM
Black Landlord wrote:
Hard to tell exactly how they're measuring EROEI--there is much more to solar systems than the panels themselves. Are they taking production, maintenance, and disposal of all the other components into account?
Like I said, there are plenty of studies out there, and there are quite a few research programs that do nothing but study such things. All of those factors and many more are considered in a number of studies. Here's a comprehensive study of studies that discusses some of these factors: http://www.energybulletin.net/node/17219
I think you'll find that there are no studies that have been done in the last decade or so that conclude that solar panels are nonrenewable energy sources or even close to being nonrenewable (i.e. having energy payback time that is a large fraction of system lifetime).
Also note that there is actually not a whole lot more to a solar energy system than the panels. I have one on my roof, and it consists of 1. panels, 2. holddowns, 3. wire and conduit, 4. inverter. That's it. Items 2 and 3 are typical hardware store items, the panels are zero maintenance and have a reputation for lasting far beyond their typical 30 year warranty period, and the inverters are simply electronic devices on the order of complexity of a fancy stereo system. Inverters do occasionally fail (though mine's going strong after 5 years), but are generally easily repaired.