Solar power is the most inherently interesting ‘green’ technology. The internet is buzzing with marketers trying to sell information products about solar power. There are also countless electronics companies selling solar powered gadgets and solar chargers for gadgets. I have an interest in solar power and an aversion to gadgets. I really hate solar powered gadgets that are designed primarily to sell.

If you are interested in reducing your plastic waste, don’t buy a solar powered gadget, at least not until they get serious about making them truly useful and efficient. Amazon reviews are a good place to find an honest assessment of any given gadget. I have looked at solar laptop chargers and so far nobody has hit the right balance of power, portability and affordability.

Residential solar panels are serious business. These days various government incentives are boosting demand for them. This is driving the costs down. It is also driving production that might not be environmentally responsible. If you want to be as green as possible, you need to do some research and find out which type of panel has the least negative impact on the environment. Some of the cheapest panels are made in countries with a poor environmental track record. The production of solar cells typically involves a lot of toxic metals. It also involves a lot of water and energy use. Researchers in environmental science have done the work of comparing the environmental costs of a range of different solar panels. Here is a PDF with their results. That research is a couple of years old, so there is a chance that newer technologies are even better.

One important consideration when calculating the environmental cost of residential solar panels is the fact that the technology can potentially replace a system that involves long distance transmission. Transmitting electricity over distance is inefficient and it uses mined metals and plastic insulation.

One of the most offensive forms of environmental damage that I have ever seen involved electrical transmission lines. When I lived in a rural area of Canada I found a spot in the forest where some criminals had burned the plastic off a pile of stolen copper wiring. Copper had value as a material for recycling. Plastic doesn’t.

Buying LED light bulbs might be a better investment in green energy tech than solar panels for most people.

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