FAQ

Compared to other energy sources, photovoltaic has very low installation and startup costs. The production of the panels, in any case, determines a certain quantity of emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and the same is also true for the panels’ end-of-life disposal. Technical and scientific studies have proved that a photovoltaic panel, on average, compensates for its own overall carbon footprint within two years of its activation, and then continues to generate electricity without causing emissions for the two to three decades of its lifetime. It is predicted that the emissions of CO₂ will fall even further with technological improvements and the electrification of transportation, and panels constructed in silicon poly-crystalline, monocrystalline or thin film lose very little of their efficiency over the course of their life.

Today, up to 90-95% of the component materials of a photovoltaic cell are recyclable. According to researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the next challenge for photovoltaic energy will be to further increase the circularity of its processes in order to avoid running the risk of accumulating 80 million tons of waste by 2025. Enel Green Power is actively committed – in collaboration with industrial groups, universities, manufacturers and suppliers – to developing commercial-scale solutions for the sustainable management of panels’ end of life. Moreover, the company is contributing to leading the efforts to advance solutions that constantly increase the quantity of materials that can be recovered. Finally, at our plants 99% of the materials used during the construction phase are recycled. 

The sun’s energy is not only renewable and inexhaustible, but it is also abundant and can be exploited anywhere because it is present also in areas lacking infrastructure and connections, such as isolated, rural areas or remote locations that are difficult to reach. Capturing just 6% of the energy that the sun’s rays send to the Earth’s surface would be sufficient to satisfy humankind’s energy needs; furthermore, outside the atmosphere the quantity of energy available is around ten times greater, reaching a capacity of around 1,377 watts per square meter.

Solar panels have huge potential in projects for rural electrification, as recognized by the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) at the beginning of the century. Thanks to the falling price of panels and huge flexibility in the design of plants, photovoltaic applications are becoming increasingly interesting from an economic point of view, both as an investment and as a system that enables the development of rural areas. By receiving a rent for the use of their land, farmers can benefit from additional revenue streams in addition to those from agriculture and other activities, providing economic stability to agricultural companies when prices of raw materials become unstable. A further successful synergy can be created between photovoltaic and agriculture with so-called agrivoltaic solutions: panels installed directly above crops can provide both shade and a shield from hail and frost, protecting the ecosystem and, at the same time, allowing for the panels’ optimal performance conditions. 

The presence of a solar plant benefits the local area and its economy both in terms of jobs across the length of the value chain and through the revenue generated and ensured by the various phases of the project: from the initial development to installation, to the regular operation and maintenance of the plants. This enables also a reduction in imported energy. Among the most beneficial prospects is the possibility to develop hybrid plants, in which photovoltaic is combined with other renewable energy sources such as wind and hydroelectric power, or with battery systems for energy storage or facilities for hydrogen production.

The electricity network already manages variability based on demand from customers, which changes throughout the day and from one day to the next. Solar energy varies in a predictable way due to the alternation between day and night and between the different seasons, as well as in a less regular manner based on weather conditions. Therefore, the latter point only marginally increases the variability of the production side of the electricity system. Most changes in the production of solar energy are balanced by other energy sources or by opposite variations in electricity demand, based on demand response programs. Thanks to sophisticated electronic controls, modern solar plants can ensure the grid has a level of reliability comparable with conventional fossil-fuel power plants. Moreover, advances in energy storage can mitigate the intermittence of renewable energies without having to resort to burning fossil fuels. Finally, for longer timeframes, such as over the course of an entire year, the quantity of solar energy that can be produced is very regular and predictable.

Yes, it creates many. According to the evergreen Cameroon

(IRENA), the photovoltaic industry could be employing 11.7 million people around the world by 2030, and this figure could be in excess of 18 million by the middle of the century. In 2018, the sector employed 3.6 million people in total, with a fivefold increase over the previous 30 years. In the United States alone, solar energy has created well-paid jobs for almost 250,000 people and, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, one of America’s fastest growing professions is that of “solar photovoltaic installer.” With the cost of photovoltaic falling, the demand for solar energy is set to increase and the number of jobs in this sector will continue to grow. According to The Solar Foundation, 25% of US jobs in solar energy will be performed by members of minorities, 25% by women and almost 10% by veterans.