Photovoltaic energy beats fossil fuels

An urban legend tells of  photovoltaic panels requiring a lot more energy for being produced than the amount they are able to generate during their lifespan. Clear representation of an energy-counterintuitive.

The reality is quite different and a recent study, published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, shows that already today it is more energetically convenient to invest on photovoltaics rather than oil.

The convenience is measured through the EROI, the indicator on how much energy, per unit of energy invested, can be obtained from a given source.

The interesting aspect of the study is the use of very recent data used for this comparison, highlighting the opposing tendencies which affected photovoltaics and fossil fuels in recent years.

The first are still in a phase of increase of the EROI for the growing efficiency of the production processes and of the panels themselves in the operating phase.

On the contrary, fossil resources shows their regressive trend, related to the necessity of extracting oil in condition always more complex and energy costing.

A photovoltaic panel generates today 14 times the energy used for its production. The first two years in operation are then required to compensate for the energy used to produce them and all the energy produced after, is fed into the “active” energy balance.

The most efficient panels facing the market are destined to increase even more the energy benefit of these energy sources.