this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2023
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Which material do you think will be the limiting factor on photovoltaic production?
Perovskite.
Lol, no. Besides the fact that we've barely started scaled production of perovskite cells, and that we're still working out their longevity issues, their main advantage is that the materials used are cheap and abundant.
Lol it's a mineral that requires Titanium to form and last I checked that wasn't cheap. Not only that, but every first person country all at once making Perovskite cells, it'll end up like Lithium in time. But again, even now as they exist, they pale in comparison to what nuclear can produce.
It's not even the most prominent means of production yet. It's about at the same level as SMRs, which are years away if they work at all.
Edit: also, you're thinking of perovskite minerals. What the yet-to-be solar panels use is perovskite crystal structures, which are abundant as hell.
"Prone to degradation due to salt" is the part that I'm trying to illustrate. Yes, we have the materials for the moment but as demand increases and solar cells fail, will maintaining them and making new ones still be as cost effective as a nuclear plant down the road? That's the basis of my concern and why renewables, while a great step in the right direction, seem to need so much more space and maintaining for less power.