Explore the environmental impact of solar panels by examining their carbon footprint, from production to installation and energy use.
- What are the carbon emissions of solar panels?
- What is the environmental impact of making solar panels?
- How do solar panels impact the landscape?
- Which type of solar panel is best for the environment?
- Can installing solar panels reduce emissions?
- How much money can I save with solar panels?
- Which country produces the most solar panels?
Solar panels are comfortably one of the best tools we have in generating clean electricity and moving away from fossil fuels, which we’ve got to do if we’re to make the world a greener place to live.
They’re great for helping homeowners reduce their energy bills and carbon emissions too, as they only need the sun to generate free electricity. Not bad right?
The question remains though, are solar panels actually good for the environment? We’ve answered that here, looking in detail at the carbon footprint of solar panels and their environmental impact.
Spoiler alert, yes solar panels do have a carbon footprint, but trust us when we say it is significantly less than the carbon footprints of gas and oil.
If you’re ready to go ahead and start the process of getting solar panels, we can help. Simply enter a few details about your home in our online form, and get a free estimate for solar panel installation today!
What are the carbon emissions of solar panels?
Per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity generated, solar panels emit roughly 50g of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Most of this comes from emissions released during the manufacturing process, as once a panel is installed and powering a home, there’s functionally zero emissions involved.
It’s important to clear up misconceptions though. These emissions are actually offset very early on in a solar system’s lifespan, and within just 4–8 months of operating, any emissions emitted during their manufacturing have been cancelled out.
For the next 25+ years of a solar panel’s lifespan, its carbon footprint becomes negative, meaning it saves more emissions than were released into the atmosphere when it was created.
Burning gas and oil to generate electricity on the other hand, continues to release harmful CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.That’s 12 times more CO2 than solar panels for gas, and 20 times more CO2 emissions when we burn oil, according to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC).
However, solar panels have a bigger carbon footprint overall than hydropower, nuclear, and onshore wind turbines. This might change as the manufacturing process of solar panels gets more efficient. Speaking of…
What is the environmental impact of making solar panels?
Making a solar panel involves a complex chain of processes that all contribute to its environmental impact. These processes include:
Mining rare earth metals to improve solar panel efficiency
Harmful materials are created when making solar panels
Transporting solar panels around the world
Solar panels use a lot of electricity when they’re being manufactured, which right now, typically comes from electricity generated by fossil fuels. As more countries add renewable energy sources to their power grids, it’ll become cleaner to produce solar panels.
And, as countries start to manufacture their own solar panels, the emissions released from transporting and importing them will decrease too.
Interestingly, transporting solar panels accounts for far less of the manufacturing emissions than you might expect — just 3% in total!
The process of making solar panels and the materials created when doing so can have a significant impact on the environment, unfortunately — refining silicon for use in solar panels can pollute soil, water, and air.
When it comes to recycling solar panels, there are issues too. Right now, the recycling infrastructure for solar panels is inadequate for the ever-increasing numbers of solar panel systems. So that means many solar panels are making their way to landfill.
Once in landfill, dangerous chemicals including arsenic and hydrofluoric acid can leak out. Thankfully, recycling processes for solar panels are always improving and the long lifespan of new solar systems (often more than 30 years) means there’s a good chance the infrastructure by then will be a lot better.
How do solar panels impact the landscape?
There is concern from some people that large-scale solar farms will reduce the land available for farming, or even harm the environment.
The truth is that solar farms typically aren’t built on land that could be used for farming, but there are examples where solar panels can actually benefit farming.
A solar array can shade certain plants that don’t need as much direct sunlight, such as berries for example. This in turn reduces the amount of water needed too.
What’s more is that by installing more solar farms across the UK and combating climate change, they’re actually working to guarantee a future for the UK’s food security. Plus, solar farms are entirely reversible, unlike gas or coal power plants which can cause long-lasting damage to the surrounding environment.
Research by renewable energy group Solar Energy UK (backed by the UK government) found that solar farms can directly benefit biodiversity, saying:
“Solar farms in the UK can be used for sheep grazing and solar developments installed on land previously used for arable cropping can diversify local land use, adding ecosystem services such as pollinator habitats and contributing to nature recovery networks.”
They added that well-designed solar farms can support thriving wildlife habitats.
Explore a Solar Case Study: Check out an insightful Q&A session featured in one of our detailed case studies on domestic solar panels. Hear directly from a Heatable customer in the UK and gain valuable perspectives on their experience here.
The image above shows a 23-panel solar installation, carried out by the MCS-certified solar team at Heatable, featuring the REA Fusion2 solar panels.
Which type of solar panel is best for the environment?
What type of solar panel a solar system uses affects its impact on the environment, because of the differences in how they’re manufactured. These are three main types of solar panels used in residential installations:
Monocrystalline solar panels
Polycrystalline solar panels
Thin-film solar panels
Here’s how each type of solar panel impacts the environment:
Monocrystalline
Monocrystalline solar panels are the most efficient panels you can buy right now,and they’re the most expensive too. You can typically get efficiency ratings up to 22%, which basically means for every five units of solar energy they absorb, monocrystalline panels can convert that into roughly one unit of usable electricity.
These panels are made from pure, single-cell silicon crystals which are cut from one big slab of silicon. This process is complex, uses a lot of energy, and comes with the highest emissions out of the three main types of solar panels.
However, the high efficiency of monocrystalline solar panels means they’ll recoup their emissions quicker than polycrystalline panels. Plus, they last longer too — monocrystalline panels last up to 40 years, compared to the 25–30 of polycrystalline. They’ll therefore spend more time being carbon negative!
Polycrystalline
Polycrystalline panels are slightly less efficient than monocrystalline, having between 14–16% efficiency. They’re made differently too, as instead of being made from a single slab of silicon, polycrystalline panels use melted silicon crystals which are poured into a mould.
This uses a large amount of energy, but still not as much as it takes to create monocrystalline panels.
Thin-film
Thin-film solar panels are the least efficient out of the three main types of panels, and generally have the lowest emissions when manufactured. They’re ideal for portable applications such as on caravans and boats, or for roofs unable to support bulkier solar systems using monocrystalline or polycrystalline panels.
The main environmental impact of thin-film solar panels are the highly toxic materials used to make them, which can be harmful to humans handling them and the environment.
Can installing solar panels reduce emissions?
Installing a solar panel system will save you roughly one tonne of CO2 emissions per year, which is the equivalent of driving around 3,600 miles in a petrol car.
Scale that up to the total CO2 saved across the UK, and the numbers start to look really impressive. According to the MCS Data Dashboard, there are over 1.5 million solar panel installations — so that’s approximately 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions saved annually!
The UK still produced 384 million tonnes of CO2e in 2023 (ONS, 2024), so there’s a way to go yet, but as more homes adopt solar panels, these emissions will only continue to shrink.
How much money can I save with solar panels?
Getting solar panels can save you up to 70% on your energy bills, annually. This is based on money saved from energy bills and profit made from exporting excess electricity via the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG).
For the typical three-bedroom home, this means saving roughly £545 per year (according to the Energy Saving Trust).
Which country produces the most solar panels?
China overwhelmingly produces the most solar panels of any country, with eight out of every ten solar panels being manufactured there. That also means China is responsible for the highest environmental impact of solar panels.
In fact, China’s solar power industry released 56,614,083 tonnes of CO2 in 2021 — roughly 72% of the world’s total emissions from solar panels.
This is a big chunk of carbon emissions for sure, but it’s still minuscule compared to the emissions from fossil fuels. In the same year, China’s CO2 emissions from all sources were 11.3 billion tonnes, primarily from fossil fuels (63% of its electricity generation came from coal).
So in the grand scheme of things, solar panels made very little impact, but there’s always room for improvement. Thankfully, China’s solar panel industry has been becoming more efficient with each passing year, reducing emissions in the manufacturing process. The country has halved the emissions of solar PV manufacturing since 2011.
Summary
Solar panels, despite producing carbon emissions when manufactured, are still amazing tools for shrinking our reliance on fossil fuels.
Plus, it only takes a short period of time before any emissions are offset by the fact a solar panel system generates clean, free electricity using only the sun.
Want to learn more about solar panels? Explore our helpful guides on solar panel grants, payback periods, the mechanics of solar energy, how many solar panels you need, and solar car charging solutions.
We’ve got a YouTube channel with loads of useful content too!
Next Steps For Your Solar Journey:
When planning to install solar panels for your home, there are several important factors to consider. Make sure to refer to the following guides to help you make informed decisions:
To dive deeper into these topics, head over to our advice section, check out our YouTube channel for informative videos, or read a customer case study to see how others have benefited from their solar installation.
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