News analysis

Making Solar Energy as Clean as Can Be Means Fitting Square Panels Into the Circular Economy

Inside Climate News · By Emma Peterson, Wyatt Myskow · last updated

Even for the most enthusiastic boosters of renewable energy, it’s hard to argue that solar panels provide truly clean electricity if, at the end of their lives, many of them end up in landfills.

Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: solar

State of Play

Declining costs and government encouragement have resulted in a rapid increase in solar energy production in the United States over the past 10 years, although solar’s share remains small: 1.6 percent of all electricity generation in 2018. That rapid growth is projected to continue.

More informationabout ENERGY BASICS: solar