The hardware for green energy production included, like solar panels... Since they don't last for ever and need lots of energy to be produced, I wonder how long it takes to just get even.
For Solar it obviously depends on a lot of factors (where you put them, which technology, where it is produced), but it's in the range of 0-4 years, depending on which study you look at. Common lifetime is ~20-30 years.
There's a mixture of degradation mechanisms at work. Some of them, like light induced degradation to the actual cells, can reduce output but can't really destroy the system. Other mechanisms really do "break" the module, e.g. backsheet delamination, accidental or malicious breaking of cover glass, or extended partial shading that leads to thermal runaway that can melt solder and/or put holes in the backsheet. As soldered connections age, weaken, and fail they can lead to thermal runaways that destroy neighboring cells too.
I believe that there are already some panels in the field that can last 50 years, and that it will become more common in the future, but 20-30 years is the safe, evidence-backed estimate for now.
The story I got when my panels were installed is that they don't know because they haven't been around long enough. Efficiency constantly improves, and panels deteriorate, but the company installing mine hasn't really seen an effectively end-of-life'd panel yet.
Thanks, I was really worried recently that it was still much worse than that but didn't have the numbers. Glad to see great progress is being made there.
I'm wondering if there are solar panel factory working entirely on solar energy. I'm not counting logistics of shipping manufactured panels to the customers for now.
Electricity is fungible though. Why does it matter? By virtue of the product they're putting out they're saving significantly more lifetime fossil fuel resources than they're using.
It does not matter. It's just nice. Maybe not as much as self-hosting compiler or 3d printer able to make copies of itself. Of course electrical energy alone is not enough to build a solar panel, but it's just pleasant for the thought.
