I discovered something odd while researching solar manufacturing. A typical solar panel consumes about 111 milligrams of silver. That’s tiny. Like, invisible to the naked eye. But here’s what’s wild, solar panels alone used 232 million ounces of silver in 2024.
To put that in perspective, that’s 29 percent of ALL industrial silver used globally. Not a small niche. Nearly a third of all silver consumed for manufacturing.
And it’s growing fast. In 2015, solar panels used only 60 million ounces. By 2024, that became 232 million ounces. That’s a 287 percent increase in less than a decade.
Why did I care about this? Because it reveals something important about the shortage I mentioned earlier. This isn’t temporary. It’s structural.
The world is installing solar panels at a massive rate. IEA projects 4,000 gigawatts of new solar capacity between 2024 and 2030. China alone will install 60 percent of it. These aren’t optional purchases or speculative bets. These are government mandates and corporate commitments. The panels WILL be installed.
And each one needs silver. Even though manufacturers have gotten better at using less silver per panel (down from 521 milligrams to 111 milligrams), the sheer volume overwhelms any efficiency gains.
Here’s the problem. Solar demand for silver is growing 20 percent per year. Mine supply is growing 0 to 2 percent per year. You do the math.
Even if copper mining picked up tomorrow, it wouldn’t change this. Because solar demand isn’t driven by economics. It’s driven by energy policy. By climate commitments. By the simple fact that the world decided to shift away from fossil fuels.
So demand for silver in solar is basically locked in for the next five years. Manufacturers can’t just stop using silver. They’ve chosen the technology. They’re committed to it.
But silver supply has a ceiling. And solar is bumping up against it.
By 2030, solar panels alone could need 280 to 390 million ounces of silver annually. That’s 29 to 41 percent of global supply going to just one industry.
Which means the rest of the industries such electronics, jewelry, medical devices, industrial etc. all have to fight over what’s left.
This isn’t a silver shortage. It’s a solar-driven restructuring of how silver gets distributed across industries.