The Impact Of Solar Power Projects On Silver Consumption

Clearly, the world is moving towards sustainability and solar power not only for environmental reasons but also to mitigate risks of geo-political dependencies. The fact that the average solar panel contains between 15 and 20g of silver leads us to assume that this development will not be without impact on silver prices. Or is it?

Two trends will shape the future of this application for silver in different ways:

  1. Since silver is an expensive component in solar panels, producers will inevitably work towards lower silver loadings. Models of future growth will have to factor in a discount for this trend.
  2. Solar technology will replace conventional batteries in areas previously inconceivable. “Spray-on” or ultra-thin flexible solar cell materials will allow for their use on or instead of phone housings or car panels, opening an entire new world of applications. Not to mention solar road pavement panels and other inventions that are already on their way to becoming available.

If technology does in fact advance in an exponential fashion then the answer is clear.