> Perhaps they're going to use those instead of all the rare earth complexity that is photovoltaics.
Photovoltaics (aka Solar panels) do not use a lot of rare earth materials.
From one of the links below:
> Unlike the wind power and EV sectors, the solar PV industry isn’t reliant on rare earth materials. Instead, solar cells use a range of minor metals including silicon, indium, gallium, selenium, cadmium, and tellurium.