European Tribune - Comments - German solar power reaches capacity of a nuclear block!

German solar power reaches capacity of a nuclear block! | 11 comments (11 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

do solar panels last with proper maintainance?

by Coriolanus on Sun Jul 31st, 2005 at 05:35:52 PM EST

To my knowledge, they don't need much maintaince - even less than wind (no moving parts), only the replacement of batteries if present. In Germany, they are usually expected to last 20 years - that is, price calculations run roughly like:

(construction & installation costs) / (20 x (expected yearly production) x (feed-in tariff))

(See some data on this in my upcoming reply to Jérôme.)

As far as I know, the only significant problem with time is chemical changes in the semiconductor, which bring down the efficiency over time.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Mon Aug 1st, 2005 at 03:27:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

German solar power reaches capacity of a nuclear block! | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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