India generated about 100 kilotonnes (kt) of solar waste in the financial year (FY) 2022-2023, according to a new study published on Wednesday (March 20). The amount of solar waste produced by the country is expected to reach 600 kt by 2030, the study said.
The analysis, ‘Enabling a Circular Economy in India’s Solar Industry – Assessing the Solar Waste Quantum’, was done by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Dr Akanksha Tyagi, Ajinkya Kale, and Neeraj Kuldeep from the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), a climate think tank.
The current solar capacity of India stands at 66.7 GW as of March 2023 — it has increased by 23 times in the past 10 years — and is slated to jump to 292 GW of installed solar capacity by 2030. Therefore, the management of solar waste is crucial for environmental, economic, and social reasons.
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Here is a look at the findings of the study and the suggestions on how to deal with solar waste.
But first, what is solar waste?
Solar waste refers to the waste generated during the manufacturing of solar modules and waste from the field (project lifetime), according to the study.
Manufacturing involves two streams of waste, including the scrap that’s produced and the waste generated from PV modules failing quality tests. Meanwhile, waste from the field involves three streams of waste. One, waste generated during transporting and handling — the damaged modules are considered as waste. Two, waste produced due to the damage incurred by solar modules during their lifetime. Three, when the modules reach their end-of-life and are not usable anymore.
The study only focused on waste from the field (project lifetime) category and excluded waste generated during manufacturing.
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What are the findings of the study?
By 2030, India’s current installed solar capacity will generate about 340 kt — three times more than the present. Around 67 per cent of this waste is expected to be produced by five states, including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. This is because these five states currently have more solar capacity than other states and therefore, will produce more solar waste.
Credit: Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)
The aforementioned states also plan to expand their solar capacity extensively in the following years. Speaking to The Indian Express, Neeraj Kuldeep, one of the authors of the study, said “If you look at India’s 500 GW renewable energy target, the majority of the GWs will come from these five renewable energy-rich states. As a result, the rate of quantum (of producing solar waste) will be higher in these states”.
The cumulative waste from existing and new capacity (deployed between FY24 and FY30) will reach about 600 kt by 2030, according to the report. By 2050, it will increase to about 19,000 kt and 77 per cent of which will be generated from new capacities.
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Credit: Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)
As the discarded modules contain minerals such as silicon, copper, tellurium, and cadmium — which have been classified as critical minerals for the country’s economic development and national security by the Indian government — the study focused on them also. The 340 kt waste expected to be produced by 2030 would consist of 10 kt of silicon, 12-18 tonnes of silver, and 16 tonnes of cadmium and tellurium.
How to deal with solar waste?
The report gave several recommendations for managing solar waste. It urged the policymakers to maintain a comprehensive database of the installed solar capacity, which would help in estimating solar waste in the following years. The report also said the policymakers should incentivise recyclers, and push stakeholders to effectively manage the growing solar waste.
Kuldeep said, “India needs to focus on creating a market for solar recycling. The general understanding is that solar waste occurs only when modules reach their end-of-life, which is around 25 years. However, our report points out that there are other ways also through which solar waste is generated. So, this is not the problem of the future. It is the problem of now and the future.”
The report talked about two broad ways of recycling solar panels. First is conventional recycling or bulk material recycling, which involves mechanical processes like crushing, sieving, and shearing of the waste. While the majority of recycled materials consist of glass, aluminium, and copper, more valuable materials like silver and silicon cannot be recovered through this method.
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The other way of recycling is known as high-value recycling. It involves the use of a combination of mechanical, chemical, and thermal processes to recycle the modules. Unlike conventional recycling, this method can recover silver and silicon also with the help of chemical processes.
