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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

Solar power challenges

Nature Sustainability volume 5, pages 285–286 (2022)Cite this article

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The transition to a low-carbon energy system requires a huge range of materials for the technologies needed. Now a study highlights how large the demand for aluminium could be with rapid photovoltaic adoption, which could have a massive carbon footprint if action is not taken in the sector.

Harnessing and storing solar or wind energy requires larger infrastructure than that needed to produce energy by burning fossil fuels. This fundamental difference is reflected in the nature of the technology itself. Renewable generation requires the building of large amounts of infrastructure, which then gathers energy over a long time period with minimal input beyond maintenance. This ‘kit’ requires a greater amount of a wider range of materials compared with what is required for traditional fossil fuel technologies. Therefore, the rapid deployment of renewable technologies will require the production of a vast range of materials over the coming decades.

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Fig. 1: Solar PV panels.

dowell / Getty Images

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  1. School of Business and Law, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK

    Timothy Laing

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  1. Timothy Laing
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Correspondence to Timothy Laing.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Laing, T. Solar power challenges. Nat Sustain 5, 285–286 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00845-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00845-w

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