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Free Report October 2022- Lack of PV Recycling |
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by Aaditya Singh | 07-11-2022 05:56
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In my free report for September, I had talked about a village in India that drew all its electricity requirement from Solar power. During the research, I came across some alarming information, something that I had never thought about or considered so far- the lack of recycling structures for Photo Voltaic (PV) waste. A great lot of equipment is used worldwide for harnessing solar energy and producing solar power. The rate at which technology gets upgraded, it is bound to happen that in few years time, old equipment would be rendered obsolete and would need replacement. I assume this would lead to huge volume of photovoltaic scrap in the next few years. Despite searching online, I could not locate any significant recycling infrastructure currently available for such equipment. With steadily growing solar expansion, the amount of obsolete solar modules could grow exponentially in the coming years, leading to a massive problem, unless it is well planned and considered now itself. This raises a big question. While trying to create green and clean energy, are we creating a bigger issue that the one that we are trying to solve? A study by Rystad Energy , an international consulting company for the energy industry, assumes that the demand for PVs will increase massively in the coming years. While the value of recyclable PV raw materials is now around US$170 million per year, this value is increasing every year and is expected to reach $2.7 billion by 2030 . Considering the estimated increase it is expected that by 2050 raw materials worth 80 billion dollars a year can be obtained from the recycling of solar modules. In Europe, circular economy is considered an important aspect of production and possibly recycling of systems could be less of a problem. But extreme deficits are expected in the developing nations. As per statictics, nearly three fourths ot the photovoltaic modules produced in the world are made in China, but there has only been one recycling plant in China since this year . This can materially process solar modules with a total output of 10 megawatts per year, while in 2021 alone, China produced photovoltaic modules with a total output of 53,000 megawatts. Chinese government has recently drawn up plans to promote and develop the recycling of solar and wind turbines. However, based on current facilities, more than a million tons of PV waste in expected to be generated in another decade. I guess the world needs to curtail the overdependency on import of Chinese PV infrastructure and plan more localised PV production as well as recycling facilities for the same. From a global perspective, the structures are missing and costs for recycling are quite high, and thereby most defective photovoltaic modules end up in landfills. To some extent, the most valuable components such as the silver are extracted from the modules but that is a miniscule part of the volume of the waste. Theoretically and technically, a wide variety of possible recycling methods could be used for PVs. Components can be electrostatically separated after shredding . The Fraunhofer Institute in Germany has also developed a new innovative method to upcycle old modules 100% into new modules, with only minor efficiency losses. Various start-ups in EU are also working on dealing with the topic. I hope that such innovations and research yield output and reach the mainstream fast enough so that the PV scrap that is currently being produced; and scrap that will be produced in the near future- can be recycled in an environmentally friendly manner in the times to come. Sources and references https://efahrer.chip.de/news/alte-anlagen-werden-nun-schrott-solar-experte-mit-alarmierender-rechnung_109978 |
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Youth
Aaditya Singh
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3 Comments
Hello, this is your mentor Minkyung.
I was very intrigued by the adverse impacts of PV waste. I think every technology has its ups and downs, and I hope we gain enough knowledge to use technologies in more and more effective and eco-friendly ways.
Thank you for your insightful report :)
Posted 20-11-2022 13:12
Hi Aditya,
This looks like a new concept of recycling. I had not heard about it previously. Keep Writing.
Regards,
Sagar
Posted 12-11-2022 09:59
Hi, Aaditya Singh!
This is your mentor, Yoon.
Thank you for introducing the lack of photo voltaic waste recycling. Your writing is very convincing as you included reliable sources to support your opinion. It is also very interesting because it contradicts most people's conception of solar power.
Your report would be even better if you could include any photos showing PV waste.
Great job on writing the free report.
I am looking forward to reading your following report!
Posted 10-11-2022 10:44