Metals & Mineral Products Used to Make a Solar Panel

• Arsenic (gallium-arsenide semicon- • Lead (batteries). Mined in China, Aus- ductor chips). Mined in China, Chile, tralia, , Peru, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Kazakhstan, Russia, Bel- Canada, India, Bolivia, Poland, Russia, gium and Mexico. Sweden, Ireland and South Africa. • Bauxite (aluminum). Mined in Austra- • Phosphate rock (phosphorous). Mined in China, United lia, China, Brazil, India, Guinea, Jamaica, States, Morocco, Western Sahara, Russia, Tunisia, Jordan, Bra- Russia, Venezuela, Suriname, Kazakh- zil, Syria, Israel, Egypt, South Africa and Canada. stan, Guyana and Greece. • Selenium (solar cells). Mined in Japan, Belgium, Canada, Russia, • Boron Minerals ( chips). Chile, the Philippines, Finland, Peru, Sweden and India. Mined in United States, Turkey, Argen- • Silica (solar cells). Mined in United States, Italy, Germany, Unit- tina, Chile, Russia, Peru, China, Bolivia ed Kingdom, Australia, France, Spain, Japan, Poland, Hungary, and Kazakhstan. South Africa, Mexico, Austria, Iran, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, • Cadmium (thin film solar cells). Mined Canada, Belgium, India, Bulgaria, Norway, Chile, Gambia, Tur- in China, Republic of Korea, Japan, Ka- key and Czech Republic. zakhstan, Mexico, Canada, Russia, Unit- • Tellurium (solar cells). Mined in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chi- ed States, India, Netherlands, Poland, na, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, Peru, Philippines, Russia and Germany and Australia. United States. • Coal (by-product coke is used to make • Titanium dioxide (solar panels). Mined in Australia, South Af- steel). Coal is mined world-wide, and rica, Canada, China, India, Norway, Ukraine, Vietnam, Mozam- constitutes 45% of the generation of bique, United States, Sierra Leone and Brazil. U.S. electricity. Reprinted with permission and adapted from the Mineral Information • Copper (wiring; thin film solar cells). Institute. For more information, visit www.mii.org. Mined in Chile, United States, Peru, China, Australia, Russia, Indonesia, Can- ada, Zambia, Poland and Mexico. • Gallium (solar cells). Mined in China, INTERESTING FACTS Germany, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. In 1954 Photovoltaic technology was born in the United States when • Indium (solar cells). Mined in China, Re- Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and developed the sili- public of Korea, Japan, Canada, Belgium, con photovoltaic (PV) cell at —the first capable of Russia, Peru and Brazil. converting enough of the sun’s energy into power to run everyday • Iron ore (steel). Mined in China, Brazil, electrical equipment. Australia, India, Russia, Ukraine, United States, South Africa, Iran, Canada, Swe- Molybdenum is “sputtered” onto the photovoltaic cells as a base con- den, Kazakhstan, Venezuela and Mexico. ductive layer for all the other layers. Sputtering is a process that uses • Molybdenum (photovoltaic cells). Mined ions of an inert gas to dislodge atoms from the surface of a crystalline in China, United States, Chile, Peru, material, the atoms then being electrically deposited to form an ex- Mexico, Canada, Armenia, Iran, Russia tremely thin coating on a glass, metal, plastic, or other surface. and Mongolia.