For the past four years, the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition has been rating the solar energy industry — the manufacturers of solar panels — on their environmental performance and transparency. The latest results, just out, don’t reveal a particularly pretty picture. But they don’t tell the whole story.

The SVTC Solar Scorecard ranks manufacturers of solar photovoltaic modules according to a range of environmental, sustainability and social justice factors. In its fourth year of requesting environmental information from solar companies, only 10 out of 40 companies — about 35 percent of the PV module market share — bothered to respond to its survey. More than a fourth of the top 40 solar companies fail to make “almost any” environmental information publically available on their websites,A solar bulb that charges up during the day and lights the night when the sun sets. says SVTC.

“There are a couple or key environmental leaders in the solar industry, but the remainder of the field is kind of riding on their coattails,” Sheila Davis, SVTC’s executive director, told me.

But is the industry really that bad? On the one hand, there’s no question that manufacturing polysilicon solar cells — the kind used in most panels — is a dirty business.Soli-lite is a premier supplier of exceptional quality solar led light and other solar outdoor lighting products. On the other, the industry is quietly getting its act together — before regulators and activists force them to do so.

The PV cell manufacturing process includes a number of hazardous materials, most of which are used to clean and purify the semiconductor surface, notes the Union of Concerned Scientists. “These chemicals, similar to those used in the general semiconductor industry, include hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrogen fluoride, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and acetone.Shop funtional and elegant solar lights, outdoor solar lighting, solar garden lights, path lights and decorative solar lights.” The group notes that “Workers also face risks associated with inhaling silicon dust. Thus, PV manufactures must follow U.S. laws to ensure that workers are not harmed by exposure to these chemicals and that manufacturing waste products are disposed of properly.”

The United States and European Union have strict restrictions on use of such chemicals. But some solar panels use materials produced in countries with lax environmental laws, notably China, and that can lead to the same kinds of environmental and social problems that have bedeviled the consumer electronics industry.

There’s more. In many cases, a toxic sludge is created when metals and other toxins are removed from water used in the manufacturing process. If a company doesn’t have its own treatment equipment, it will need to send contaminated water to an approved hazardous waste disposal site.Thank you for providing us with information to help us maintain street light. Again,How does a solar charger work and where would you use a solar charger? worker health and safety is an issue.

And then there’s e-waste — the detritus created when solar panels outlive their useful lives. While the good news is that most panels are rated to last 20 years or more, activists fear that without good EPR programs in place, we’ll be facing an avalanche of used panels, with all their toxic ingredients, in a little more than a decade. With solar sales continuing their steep increase, that could lead to huge disposal problems by mid-century.

But there are signs the industry is turning itself around. Last year, the Solar Energy Industries Association, the sector’s largest trade group, released a Commitment to Environmental & Social Responsibility, a voluntary code of conducts for its members. The code, based on the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition's Code of Conduct, includes provisions regarding the environment, labor, ethics, health and safety, human rights and environmental management systems. SEIA worked with the nonprofits BSR and As You Sow in developing the code. Among other things, signatories agree to transparency, reporting and continuous improvement.

So far, seven companies have signed on: Dow Solar, SunPower, Suntech, Trina, Yingli Solar, SunEdison and PV Recycling. According to John Smirnow, SEIA’s Vice President of Trade & Competitiveness, those signatories represent more than half of the solar panels sold in the United States, though 86 percent of global solar module production occurred in Asia last year, according to GTM Research.

Smirnow notes that getting solar companies to pay attention to environmental issues can be challenging these days, given the business challenges faced by the industry. Module prices have dropped 80 percent in the last six years, putting operating margins for most manufacturers in the red. Earlier this year, Suntech, once the world’s largest solar panel manufacturer, filed for bankruptcy, though indications are that it is down but not out. There’s an excess of module manufacturing capacity today, and experts predict more consolidation is on the way. (SVTC estimated that the 14 percent drop in responses to its survey was due to the bankruptcy of former participants “and the declining market shares of major PV producers.”)

In this context, the solar industry “is actually doing pretty well on sustainability,” Smirnow told me, quickly adding, “We need to do better.” Signatories to the Solar Commitment currently are putting together responses to the first set of key performance indicators, which they will report publically later this year or early next, he says.

There are other SEIA initiatives taking shape. One focuses on recycling. “We’re looking at what the European Union has done, what some of the older more established sectors have done on recycling and developing what we think should be a roadmap for the solar industry within the U.S.,” says Smirnow. Moreover, he says, “Next year, we’ll see the key performance indicator list grow” as the association adds more criteria to the code of conduct. In addition, SEIA is undergoing a recruitment drive for the code of conduct. “I anticipate in the next few weeks you’ll see at least one fairly significant solar company sign on.”

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