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They don't have to be as efficient if they're 100x cheaper and lighter to boot. The stability is really the only issue.

At planetary scale it seems to be quite important not having to replace the whole fleet every few years don‘t you think? Just from a resource perspective this planet shouldn‘t drown in defunct solar panels.

Luckily, they are made of just a few basic, very recyclable chemical elements. Aluminium is fully recyclable. Glass is fully recyclable. Silicon gets purified as part of its manufacturing process. And that just leaves the plastic backing.

Just a thought, but recycling glass is extremely energy intensive.

https://www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/old/5703.pdf

"Recycling of glass does not save much energy or valuable raw material and does not reduce air or water pollution significantly."

Yes, that's why I said the stability of perovskites is the only real issue.

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