Note: construction and electrical workers are in the top 10, with solar installers being members of both groups so may be hard to estimate their number. But its around 20 deaths per 100,000 per year! Add Roofer at near 40, and again solar panel installers are in this group. Compared to mining around 27.
So I admit my original comment was based on a news article, that I recall quoted solar installer at the top of their dangerous occupation list. No reference to give for that, so I withdraw my assertion.
Given that solar is less than 1% of global energy production and installed capacity, you can still calculate the absolute numbers. Additionally, roof mounted solar is a very (very, very, very) small fraction of total installed solar capacity as the majority is ground mounted i.e. the large >500kw plants. Having started my career in energy this "roof" argument only pops up when talking to non-energy folks, as the real meat (installed capacity) is in remote, high radiation locations, far away from what people understand by solar (roof).
I believe all that. Still, its more per-megawatt calculating. Are large farms installed using automated processes (large prefab panels, cranes etc)? Then the per-worker death rates may be significantly affected by the roofers, who are likely numerous.
Feel free to share global coal mining and coal plant construction death numbers with all of us... that previous link (with lack of sources) doesn't talk about global solar installation, nor global coal mining (as the US has been a net importer of coal for decades) it's wishful thinking not to count mining accidents from imported coal, isn't it?
What you can't do is compare part of one value chain (just coal plant construction) which is 100% reliant on coal mining, and later compare it to solar which is then 100% operational. But feel free to compare apples and oranges, it just shows the value of your argument.
I'm sure coal mining + power plants accidents/deaths is orders of magnitude larger than all solar technologies.
I did share (above); for mining its around 27/10,000/year. Which is commensurate with solar installation/construction/electrical. And roofing (for those in solar that do work on roofs) is near 40.
And yes, this is probably a red herring, since rooftop solar is bound to recede into insignificance and solar farms continue to grow in generation capacity.
Also, its weird to compare solar installation with coal mining (instead of for instance coal plant construction).
That story seems to add the deaths attributable to coal consumption (through people dying from breathing polluted air) rather than the deaths from coal extraction vs. solar installation, which is what the poster above was talking about before getting flagged (perhaps due to the failure to back the statement up with any data).
Pollution externalities are as or more important than deaths on the production side, but they are different and we shouldn't minimize the latter even if we approve of solar more than coal - it's just easy ammo to the coal lobby, and might be giving a free pass to employers who take a cavalier approach to safety.
