The environmental cost or “breakeven point” of solar panels is approximately 2-3 years. This means that the amount of energy needed to manufacture the panel is regenerated after 2-3 years of solar production of the solar panel.  The impact is thus minimal compared to the lifespan of solar panels (25+ years).
In order to evaluate the environmental impact of product, there are different environmental analysis methodologies such as Lifecycle Analysis (LCA), the Carbon Balance, and the Simplified Carbon Evaluation.
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