Paul Jamieson

Luca’s articles on energy, and having been learning lots, so thank you for getting them into the paper.

One question/issue I have never been able to get an answer to is the overall carbon impact of solar panels, and I was wondering if Dr Luca might be able to help out and do a deep dive for an article?

My unanswered issues are around:

■ Obtaining the raw materials for constructing solar panels has a carbon cost

■ Constructing the solar panels (mainly in China and South Korea by my understanding) has a carbon cost. Both these countries rely on fossil fuels for electricity generation

■ New Zealand’s electricity is generated by a very high percentage of renewable energy (>80 percent), so replacing this energy production with solar has a low carbon benefit

■ Solar panels have a relatively short lifespan (10-15 years), so once they need replacing there is a carbon cost of disposing of them (to landfill by my understanding).

So, bearing all this in mind, is solar really any better for the environment in the long run?

I have asked these questions to multiple solar panel retailers and have never been able to obtain an answer.