Solar Energy's Dirty Little Secret, Discarded solar panels.

Templer421 writes: Discarded solar panels are piling up all over the world, and they represent a major threat to the environment. A new study by Environmental Progress (EP) warns that toxic waste from used solar panels now poses a global environmental threat. The Berkeley-based group found that solar panels create 300 times more toxic waste per unit of energy than nuclear-power plants. Discarded solar panels, which contain dangerous elements such as lead, chromium, and cadmium, are piling up around the world, and there’s been little done to mitigate their potential danger to the environment.