it true that the energy used in making a solar panel is more than will be produced by a panel over its lifetime?
No. Solar panels will repay the energy used in their construction in just under 2 years of operation. As larger manufacturing facilities are built, economies of scale mean this time frame is becoming smaller. Most of the embodied energy in a solar panel is in the aluminium frame. Thin film technologies that are less efficient than monocrystalline or polycrystalline panels, require more panels to produce the same power output. This means there is more aluminium in a thin film system and they require more mounting components in the installation.
