This article doesn't discuss the lifetime differences between monocrystalline silicon panels and the various thin-film products such as cadmium telluride or lead perovskite. Defect-free monocrystalline silicon PV can last >50 years, and can be refurbished.
Unfortunately the US (unlike China) never invested in a robust monocrystalline capacity, and the only US manufacturers of solar panels appears to be First Solar of AZ which uses CdTe (toxic waste). Many other purported manufacturers of monocrystalline silicon are just assembling panels using Chinese-origin wafers, now produced in places like Vietnam to avoid sanctions issues.
If the billions poured into fradulent and useless 'clean coal' programs during the past two decades in the US had instead gone to solar PV programs, things might have been different, but the fossil fuel & investor-owned power utility sectors didn't want to face competition, so we got garbage like 'FutureGen' under Bush and stuff like this under Obama (doe.gov):
> "In December 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the selection of three new projects with a value of $3.18 billion to accelerate the development of advanced coal technologies with carbon capture and storage at commercial-scale."
There were eight major clean coal projects - only one was completed, and it shut down later - a complete waste of billions of dollars.
Unfortunately the US (unlike China) never invested in a robust monocrystalline capacity, and the only US manufacturers of solar panels appears to be First Solar of AZ which uses CdTe (toxic waste). Many other purported manufacturers of monocrystalline silicon are just assembling panels using Chinese-origin wafers, now produced in places like Vietnam to avoid sanctions issues.
If the billions poured into fradulent and useless 'clean coal' programs during the past two decades in the US had instead gone to solar PV programs, things might have been different, but the fossil fuel & investor-owned power utility sectors didn't want to face competition, so we got garbage like 'FutureGen' under Bush and stuff like this under Obama (doe.gov):
> "In December 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the selection of three new projects with a value of $3.18 billion to accelerate the development of advanced coal technologies with carbon capture and storage at commercial-scale."
There were eight major clean coal projects - only one was completed, and it shut down later - a complete waste of billions of dollars.