What is the Energy Payback Time for a solar energy system?
Energy payback is an important concept to understand when considering a renewable energy system. It answers the question, “How much energy did it take to manufacture the system, and how long will it take for the system to produce that much clean energy?” For solar electric systems being sold today, the energy payback is estimated at about 4 years. Solar electric technologies being developed but still not available for purchase are expected to reduce this time down to just 2 years. For more information on this topic, visit the following sites: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy04osti/35489.pdf http://www.energybulletin.net/17219.
