FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 2024
The following statement can be attributed to Judd Messer, Texas Vice President of Advanced Power Alliance:
“A recent hail event in Fort Bend County has prompted questions as to whether damage to a utility-scale solar power facility can have adverse environmental or health implications for the surrounding community. Solar panels are built to withstand harsh conditions and extreme weather events, such as hail storms, and panels do not contain sufficient amounts of hazardous materials to be harmful, even in the highly unlikely event that the several layers of protection within the panels are compromised.
Much of the disinformation spread following the recent weather event focused on the concern that cadmium telluride was present in the panels. While cadmium telluride is seldom used as a component in modern solar panels, older panels did sometimes contain small amounts. Still, such small amounts of cadmium telluride, which does not dissolve in water, makes groundwater contamination nearly impossible.”
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The Advanced Power Alliance is the industry trade association created to promote the development of wind, solar and energy storage as resources that can deliver clean, reliable, affordable power for American consumers.