The dark side of solar panels

Interesting blog on Earth2Tech today, which was taken from the Washington Post.

It says that Chinese manufacturers of solar panels are failing to observe environmental duties when using and disposing of the materials for the job.

To sum it up:

• The price of polysilicon soared from $20 per kilogram to $300 per kilogram over the past five years.
• If environmental protection technology is used, the cost to produce one ton of polysilicon is approximately $84,500. But Chinese companies are making it at $21,000 to $56,000 a ton.
• The combined capacity of China’s new polysilicon factories is estimated at 80,000 to 100,000 tons — more than double the 40,000 tons produced in the entire world today.
• Many of the residents of the village where Luoyang Zhonggui High-Technology Co. is dumping make $200 a year.