Earth911 Podcast: Toledo Solar CEO Aaron Bates on American Cadmium Telluride Solar Panel Manufacturing

Earth911 Podcast: Toledo Solar CEO Aaron Bates on American Cadmium Telluride Solar Panel Manufacturing

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When we speak about photo voltaic power, most of us consider the normal silicon-based photovoltaic cells that Jimmy Carter famously installed on the roof of the White House in 1977. They have change into fixtures in houses, companies, and large-scale solar farms. But sooner or later, photo voltaic know-how may generate power on nearly any floor or window. Aaron Bates, founder and CEO of Toledo Solar, a Perrysburg, Ohio, maker of sturdy photo voltaic panels and photo voltaic glass utilizing thin-film photovoltaic applied sciences, joins the dialog to debate the advantages of American photo voltaic panels made utilizing cadmium telluride. The materials, known as “cad inform,” is a byproduct of different industrial processes that helps constructing thinner photovoltaic movies laid onto glass. Cad inform photo voltaic know-how can be easily recycled and 60% of the fabric is recovered right now, in line with Bates.

Aaron Bates, chairman & CEO of Toledo Solar
Aaron Bates, chairman & CEO of Toledo Solar, is our visitor on Sustainability in Your Ear.

American-made photo voltaic know-how is vital to power independence, as provide chain points and political tensions with China have led to an 18% enhance in the price of overseas photo voltaic panels. The U.S. put in 20.2 gigawatts of photo voltaic power manufacturing in 2022. The nation’s present 142.3 GW of photo voltaic capability can energy greater than 25 million houses, in line with a March 2023 Solar Energy Industries Association report. Toledo Solar home windows, which include a 30-year guarantee, promise so as to add extra technology capability to a constructing by extending the photo voltaic floor space past rooftop panels.

Combining electrical energy generated by conventional panels, home windows, and different thin-film photovoltaics on buildings may make our constructed setting power self-sufficient. But there are a lot of questions on how the U.S. photo voltaic trade can develop and the advantages of the Inflation Reduction Act’s solar incentives. Aaron discusses the results of slicing IRA incentives, which is below debate as Republican lawmakers search to roll them again within the debt ceiling confrontation. You can be taught extra about Toledo Solar at toledo-solar.com.