How Silicon is Combatting One of the Biggest Anti-Solar Myths

Solar energy is not only a viable option but is also becoming more sustainable and efficient by the week. This moves us steadily toward a future where energy production is both environmentally friendly and economically feasible.

Even though they’ve been around for seven decades, the concept of solar panels still has a somewhat “futuristic.” vibe to it. For this reason, many of the people who grew up with a “Popular Mechanics vision” of solar energy have some misconceptions about how the technology works. For instance, most of these people think that if making and using solar panels was so easy, we would have started the renewable transition ages ago. While this is a perfectly innocent misunderstanding in most cases, the fact that so many people – including politicians and pundits – push this narrative has greatly hindered solar adoption. 

And perhaps the most pervasive myth of all is that solar panels rely on rare or otherwise hard-to-obtain minerals and ingredients. This paints a picture of an industry beholden to rare earth mines in some faraway land. More specifically, it is often used to associate the solar industry as depending largely on China, thus presenting a threat to energy (and national) security. But the truth is that the backbone of most modern solar panels is not some rare, unpronounceable metal, but rather the second-most abundant mineral on earth: silicon. 

With the renewable energy transition at a critical stage, it’s never been more important to remind people of that. 

The History of Solar Panel Construction

Ignoring those individuals who might have a vested interest in perpetuating the “rare earth solar” myth, there are some perfectly innocent explanations for why some people still believe it. For instance, anyone researching the history of solar panels and solar cells will discover that many of the first practical examples utilized germanium. While germanium was never extremely rare, its scarcity sparked concerns among early solar engineers that mirror many of those we hear today.

In fact, throughout the time that solar panels have been in the public consciousness, they’ve been associated with a variety of metals, including copper, silver, aluminum, gallium, indium, and cadmium. Sometimes, you still hear claims about solar panels not being able to work without ultra-rare minerals like platinum and palladium. Again, such beliefs are either rooted in bad understanding, bad journalism, or bad intentions. The latter two have rarely seen use in solar panels outside experimental versions or those designed for extremely high capacity. An example might be the panels designed for the International Space Station, which would never be feasible or intended for commercial use. The other metals are typically limited to specific, less common types of solar cells, such as those using Copper Indium Gallium Selenide, or CIGS.

As any solar engineer will tell you, the reality of commercial solar panels is that they have more in common with your home windows than they do with your electric car battery. A typical crystalline silicon solar panel is made of about 76% glass, 10% plastic, 8% aluminum, 5% silicon, 1% copper, and less than 0.1% silver and other metals. Of course, glass is merely made of silica, which is itself a compound of silicon and oxygen. So, it doesn’t matter how much they push the narrative that “all solar panels rely on rare earths.” The reality is that you could find most of the necessary ingredients sifting through sand at the beach. 

The Dominance of Silicon Panels

Alongside realizing that solar panels are not made from some space-age material, it’s also important to realize that this is not an accident. Again, given the way our society has approached so-called future technologies, it’s forgivable that some people might think using silicon is purely a cost-cutting measure. But again, the truth is that silicon-based solar panels are as old as the technology itself. In fact, Bell Laboratories engineer Russel Ohl filed a patent for the first monocrystalline silicon solar cell in 1941. 

So, while silicon is indeed both plentiful and inexpensive, this is more of a bonus than it is the specific intention. After all, they’re the industry standard for a reason. For instance, today’s silicon cells are remarkably efficient, typically converting 10–20% of sunlight into electricity. In fact, some of the newer models are achieving over 22% efficiency, with more improvements on the way. The solar sector is also actively engaged in research to replace the rarer metals used in some technologies. It is also drastically improving efforts to recycle old panels and recover any valuable materials. This proactive approach not only diminishes the need for newly mined metals but addresses the management of solar panel waste.

You Can’t Keep a Good Technology Down 

Solar skeptics come in a lot of different forms. In almost all cases, the issue stems from the person misunderstanding or being misinformed about the technology. However, there are still plenty of people who either fear the change that will come from a transition to renewables or stand to lose money because of it. For this reason, people like Aaron Burkhart, VP of Doman Energy, want the public to be a bit more discerning with the opinions it consumes. 

“I don’t expect everyone to be an engineer,” Burkhart says. “I don’t expect everyone to know how every aspect of a solar panel works. But I do want them to understand that there are people out there who will use bad-faith arguments to hold solar down.” For their part, people like Burkhart often liken the situation to farriers getting their first view of an automobile. If you made your money shoeing horses, a car would represent an existential threat to your livelihood. And since having cars replace horses would require new infrastructure like paved roads, gas stations, and traffic lights, you might be able to convince some people that the change would just be more trouble than it's worth.” 

“That’s what we’re seeing right now,” says Burkhart. “The technology and demand are where we need them to make an entirely solar-powered society. This will require a lot of changes, and one of the things that will change is that people who make money on non-solar energy production will make less.” Whether people are scared of the former, the latter, or both, the winds of change are already blowing toward renewables. 

“Solar energy is not only a viable option but is also becoming more sustainable and efficient by the week. This moves us steadily toward a future where energy production is both environmentally friendly and economically feasible,” Burkhart says. Sooner or later, solar will see widespread enough implementation that people will be able to see this reality for themselves. Once they see how utility-scale solar works, how much it costs, and – most importantly – how much money it can save, no amount of naysaying will be able put an anchor on the transition. Because, in the end, you can’t keep a good technology down.