In June, the American solar manufacturer Qcells became the second company in the world to register its solar panels with EPEATa labeling system that sets sustainability standards for electronics manufacturers. By doing so, the company caused an obscurity regulation which requires federal agencies to purchase EPEAT-certified solar panels. For example, if NASA wants to build a solar farm to power a research facility, it must now purchase panels that meet EPEAT’s strict sustainability requirements – including s first of its kind limit about the carbon emissions linked to solar power generation.
There’s just one problem: Although EPEAT launched its solar standards in 2019, as of today there are only six EPEAT registered solar panels on the global market. And there are currently no EPEAT registrants solar power convertersdevices that convert the direct current electricity produced by a solar panel into alternating current electricity, which the grid uses. That doesn’t leave many choices for the federal government, or anyone else looking to buy sustainably produced solar equipment.
That’s why, in October, the Department of Energy, or DOE, introduced a new price offering up to $450,000 to US-based solar panel and inverter manufacturers who achieve EPEAT certification for their products. As a new wave of domestic solar manufacturing kicks into high gear, the DOE hopes the prize will ensure companies use efficient processes, sustainable materials, fair labor practices and low-carbon energy.
“The fact of the matter is, not all solar power [products] created equally in their production,” said Patty Dillon, a vice president at the Global Electronics Councilthe sustainable technology nonprofit that manages the EPEAT ecolabel.
Solar panels convert the sun’s rays into electricity in a process that no greenhouse gaseswhich makes them essential to fighting climate change. To achieve net zero emissions by 2050, the International Energy Agency estimates that the world needs to add 630 gigawatts of new solar power annually by 2030 – compared to the 135 gigawatts installed in 2020.
But some solar panels are more climate friendly than others. Polysiliconused to make the sunlight-harvesting cells inside silicon panels is made using an energy-intensive process often powered by fossil fuels. The frames that hold solar panels together are made aluminumwhich is typically smelted in China using coal-fired electricity. The manufacturing processes that turn these materials into a solar panel also require energy, which can lead to more emissions. Globally, the difference between solar panels produced with clean energy and those produced with fossil fuels can amount to ten billion metric tons of carbon pollution by the middle of the 21st century.
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To reduce those emissions, along with other environmental challenges such as the use of toxic chemicals and the disposal of solar e-wastecompanies must take a hard look at their supply chains and, in some cases, engage in difficult cleanup work. The DOE’s new prize, “Promotion of Registration of Inverters and Modules with Ecolabel,” or PRIME, encourages companies to do this by going through the EPEAT registration process.
“EPEAT certification allows companies to show how they’ve taken steps to have more environmentally friendly supply chains and manufacturing processes,” Becca Jones-Albertus, who manages the DOE’s Office of Solar Energy Technology, told Grist.
Solar companies seeking EPEAT registration must comply with a list of criteria covering four broad themes: climate change, sustainable resource use, hazardous chemicals and responsible supply chains. Depending on how many standards a manufacturer meets, it can receive an EPEAT bronze, silver or gold designation.
In addition, starting in June, solar manufacturers registered with EPEAT are required to comply with the industry’s first ever criteria for embodied carbonthe emissions generated when a product is manufactured. For every kilowatt of power produced, no more than 630 kilograms of CO2 can be emitted during the manufacture of an EPEAT-registered solar panel. The cap, Dillon says, represents about 25 percent less carbon emissions than the global average. Solar panels that fall below the “ultra low carbon” threshold of 400 kilograms of CO2 per kilowatt of power earn a special EPEAT Climate+ designation.
“It basically represents the best in class,” Dillon said.
It is difficult to make a direct comparison with fossil fuel plants, as most of their emissions come from operations rather than building infrastructure. But other research found that solar plants are significantly more climate-friendly over their lifetime, emitting about 50 grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour of energy produced compared to about 1,000 grams per kilowatt-hour for coal.
Complying with EPEAT’s requirements is not easy, which may explain why there are only two companies – QCells and Arizona-based First Solar – currently listed on the register. And only two solar panels manufactured by First Solar have earned the eco-label’s Climate+ badge. QCells, which manufactures two EPEAT-registered panels at a factory in Dalton, Georgia, spent about two years going through a “very extensive” certification process that involved collecting data about its supply chain and submitting it to a third-party audit , head of corporate communications Debra DeShong told Grist.
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“It’s not an easy task,” DeShong said. “It requires resources and it requires a will.”
Other companies may now be motivated to try. QCells’ additions to the EPEAT registry in June triggered the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which requires the federal government to purchase goods that meet standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, except in limited circumstances where it is impractical to do so. In the case of solar panels, this means EPEAT registered products. The DOE’s PRIME prize, which offers US solar manufacturers $50,000 for starting the registration process and up to $100,000 per product for up to four products that complete it, provides additional incentive. Jones-Albertus told Grist that the prize was designed to “roughly offset the cost of collecting all the data and the registration process.”
Solar companies “have told us they’re interested in EPEAT certification, but they haven’t gotten there yet,” Jones-Albertus said. “We hope to provide incentives for companies to go through the EPEAT registration process sooner.”
Companies looking deep into their supply chains for the first time may discover that they need to make some changes to comply with EPEAT registration requirements. To reduce the carbon footprint of its panels, a solar manufacturer may need to switch to a low-carbon polysilicon supplier. (QCells, for example, is the purchase of polysilicon from a facility in Washington state which manufactures the goods using hydropower.) Or it may decide to exchange virgin aluminum frames manufactured overseas for recycled steel built domestically by Origami Solar, a change that could reduce carbon emissions linked to the frame by more than 90 percent. To meet EPEAT’s optional criteria for recycled content, a manufacturer may decide to source recycled panel glass from a company such as SolarCycle.
Making these kinds of manufacturing supply chain changes takes time and money beyond what the new DOE price will provide. But Dillon, of the Global Electronics Council, is optimistic that more companies will begin registering their products with EPEAT now that federal buyers require it.
Erik Petersen, the chief strategy officer at Origami Solar, believes that the Biden administration’s push for clean domestic manufacturing, combined with growing consumer interest in supply chain transparency, will spur more U.S. solar companies to ensure their products meet high sustainability standards.
“What’s exciting is that all these forces are coming together at the same time,” Petersen told Grist. “It really gives the industry an incentive to do the right things.”
