Hi-Ho Solar Silver, And Away!

Silver has been experiencing quite a few moments in recent times, with prices the highest they’ve been for years – and solar panel uptake is partly responsible.

Sometimes referred to as poor man’s gold, prices for silver yesterday were around AUD $1.59 a gram. This was lower than the highs seen in May, but still up approximately 26% on a year ago.

How Is Silver Used In Solar Tech?

It’s mainly used for solar panels in a paste form on the front and back of cells, providing conductive layers. Silver is a highly conductive metal, more so than gold or copper.

How Much Silver Is In A Solar Panel?

It depends on panel size and technology, but ~20 grams according to various sources.

If that’s the case, there would be around 460 grams of silver in a 10kW solar array using 440-watt solar panels. At AUD $1.59 a gram, it works out to approximately $31.80 per panel, or $731 for 10 kilowatts’ worth. But looking at retail prices for good quality 440W solar panels, that could comprise as much as 18% of the module’s price – which seems incredibly high. And the proportion would be even higher at wholesale prices.

Perhaps the 20 grams is a very old estimate, or applies to some of the humungous utility-scale modules being produced.

Another estimate is 3.2 to 8 grams per m2, depending on the technology. Looking at the lower end, it would be around 6.4 grams for the 440W solar panel – $10.17 per panel; which seems more realistic. At the high end of that range; 16 grams – $25.44.

Even at the lower estimate, silver is a pricey part of a solar panel and manufacturers are always keen to reduce use of the metal, or ditch its use altogether. For example, Australia’s SunDrive has been developing a solar panel that doesn’t use silver at all.

By the way, retrieving the silver from a panel isn’t straightforward – just saying in case some are thinking about visiting neighbourhood PV arrays when their owners aren’t at home.

How Much Silver Does The PV Industry Use?

According to the Silver Institute, the solar PV sector alone raised global electrical and electronics demand for the metal by 20 percent in 2023.

“This gain reflects silver’s essential and growing use in PV, which recorded a new high of 193.5 Moz last year, increasing by a massive 64 percent over 2022’s figure of 118.1 Moz.”

193.5 Moz = 193.5 million ounces = ~5,486 tonnes. That’s about AUD $8.7 billion worth at yesterday’s price.

In its World Silver Survey 2024 report, the Institute is forecasting industrial demand gains of 9% this year to another record high.

“However, the strong gains in PV over the past two years may be hard to sustain as installations start to plateau, while geopolitics and trade disputes have the potential to disrupt our forecast.”

Among those trade disputes is a bit of biffo (still) going on in the USA over cheap solar panels from Chinese companies that have set up shop in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

While panels from these countries were given a temporary reprieve from protective tariffs, that period ended this month and further potential action is in the pipeline. There’s been reports of some south-east Asian factory lines already shutting down as a result. While large quantities of these cheap panels have been stockpiled in the USA, their owners only have six months to use them or face duties.

Solar’s impact on silver prices is another reason why panel recycling is so important; and higher prices – if sustained – may help make the practice more attractive.