Environment & Energy

...ethylene vinyl acetate, the Petrochemical polymer found on most silicon based solar cells.

The review article I'm referencing for the post reports that the "lifetime" of solar cells is not merely a function of when they die of "old age," but rather includes, as do human beings, an actuarial calculation including those killed by extreme weather, fire, installation errors, accidents, defective manufacture, etc.

It doesn't seem that the solar cells here will be available for magical recycling, does it?

The review gives a lifetime of about 25 years, and predicts about 80 million tons of solar waste "by 2050," when it claims that solar will be producing - in spurts requiring back up - about 40 Exajoules of energy.