Letter: Solar Panel CO2 facts

I must refute the recent letter as it is highly misleading. The author is correct that the solar industry produces CO2, but that is where the facts stop. Nowhere could I find any modern industrial purified silicon process that used charcoal and wood chips. From commonly found references, the carbon footprint of a solar panel is much lower than traditional fossil fuel-based electricity generation. 20-70 grams of CO2 equivalent/kWh (2018 International Energy Agency study) vs. 500-1000g of CO2e/kWh. The fact is that solar panels offset their carbon footprint within a few years of operation.

Mike Leuthold, Renewable Power Forecasting Group University of Arizona

Graham County

Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.