Renewable energy might clear us of the acquisition (of energy) problem
but it will still continue to create dissipation (of waste) problems. This
article flags out one.
WA S T E
Empanel a jury...
A
...because solar panel STAIRWAY TO Moon can be
built by simply joining the
waste is piling up 24 billion solar photovoltaic
KUNDAN PANDEY | new delhi (PV) modules that would be
installed on Earth by 2050. But there
is an ominous flip side to the revolution
in solar energy. A solar panel has a
lifespan of 20-25 years, so what will
happen to this waste and how will it
be discarded?
PV modules carry heavy metals
and this cannot be dumped in landfills.
A PV module is essentially made up of
glass, metals, silicon and polymer
fractions, and there are few materials
14 DOWN TO EARTH
14-15Waste.indd 14
like polymers as well as metals,
metallic compounds and alloys which
are classified as potentially hazardous.
Though India’s solar energy story
is still in its nascent stage, solar energy
installed capacity has increased by
over 8 times—from 2.63 GW in 2014
to 26 GW in 2018. According to a
report of the International Renewable
Energy Agency (irena), India will
have solar PV of 600 GW by 2050.
Vinay Rustagi, managing director of
Bridge to India, a consultancy group
advocating renewables, says the
country will generate PV waste
16-31 MARCH 2019
11/03/19 11:38 AM
 why is the regulator not acting?
we don't have rules to tackle the waste from
we'll see a possible response to this
solar panels, maybe one should look at the
in the next class.
EU law to better understand the same.
WA S T E
www.downtoearth.org.in/waste

between 1 and 1.2 million tonne per
annum (see “A renewable crisis”). So
far, regulatory authorities have not
taken note of this long-term problem.
In fact, between August 2017 and
January 2019, the National Green Tri-
bunal (ngt) has, on three occasions,
asked the government to frame policies
to address the disposal of solar panel
waste. In January this year, a bench
headed by Raghuvendra S Rathore
expressed concern over the dearth of
government policies related to disposal
of these panels.
Oblivious
By default, PV waste is guided by the
e-Waste Management Rules, 2016,
which puts the onus of disposal on
manufacturers under the Extended
Producer Responsibility (epr). “But
there is absolutely nothing in the
policy as to how the country will handle
its solar waste. The government must
think on the lines of epr, which is
meant for electronic goods,” says Swati
Singh Sambyal, programme manager,
Municipal Solid Waste, Centre for
Science and Environment, New Delhi.
A renewable crisis
Cumulative waste volumes of top five countries for end-of-life PV panels in 2050
Cumulative PV panel waste (million tonnes)
Early-loss scenario * Regular-loss scenario **
20 million
China
13.5 million
USA 10 million
7.5 million
Japan 7.5 million
6.5 million 2050
India 7.5 million 60-78
4.5 million million
tonnes of PV panel
Germany 4.3 million waste globally
4.4 million
* Early-loss scenario considers 30-year average panel lifetime, but it includes installation/transport damages
** Regular-loss scenario considers 30-year average panel lifetime where there is a 99.99 per cent probability of loss after
40 years
Source: End-of-Life Management Solar Photovoltaic Panels, International Renewable Energy Agency, 2016
It is, in fact, a global trend, where
countries do not have a specific rule on
the disposal of solar PV. The exception
is Europe, where 28 countries adopted
the Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment Directive in 2012, which
includes PV waste. Under this, module
producers are required to collect and
dispose the PV modules.
Anil Kottantharayil, a professor at
the National Centre for Photovoltaic
Research and Education Centre, iit
Bombay, explains the making of PV
modules. He says one silicon PV
module contains 65 per cent glass, 17
per cent aluminium, 10 per cent
plastic, 3 per cent silicon, one per cent
copper and 0.03 per cent silver. Other
than this, one module carries more
than 0.05 per cent lead or tin. He
adds that though the presence of
heavy metals is small, it needs to be
handled carefully.
When Down To Earth spoke to Dev
Sharma of Jaksons Developers Pvt
Ltd, Greater Noida—which has ins-
talled solar panels at the Rashtrapati
Bhavan—he said he did not wish to
discuss the problem of solar panel
waste. Rustagi disagrees: “If we don’t
take preemptive steps now, it will be
tough to handle the crisis 20 years
from now.”
Some experts say though recycling
solar waste is a solution, there are
challenges. PV waste recycling is still at
a nascent stage globally, both in terms of
technical standards and physical
infrastructure. So at present, PV mod-
ule recycling is not commercially viable.
Anil Kottantharayil, however, disagrees.
“Recycling makes sense when one
considers the energy consumption in
manufacturing. But if we recycle solar
panels, we will not need as many mat-
erials,” he says. Recycling technologies
for solar panels may be evolving, but the
government needs to urgently take stock
of the mounting solar waste crisis and
come up with regulations. n
@kundanpandey158

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