GS Paper 3
Syllabus: Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation
Source: TH
Context: Even while Indian policymakers are working hard to shift to a circular economy, there are still no defined guidelines for waste management in the solar photovoltaic (PV) sector.
A typical PV panel is dominated by: Crystalline silicon (c-Si) technology → 93% of c-Si modules (made up of silver, tin and lead) and 7% of cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film modules (made of glass, encapsulant, and compound semiconductor).
What is PV waste?
- India stands 4th in solar PV deployment globally and its solar power installed capacity has reached ~62 GW by 2022.
- India’s latest PLI scheme promotes the domestic manufacturing of high-efficiency solar PV modules.
- This is great, but it also indicates massive amounts of solar PV waste in the future.
- India could generate 50,000-3,25,000 tonnes of cumulative PV waste by 2030 and more than 4 million tonnes by 2050 (International Renewable Energy Agency) → expected to make India one of the world’s top five leading PV waste producers.
- ~50% of total materials can be recovered through waste management and recycling processes.
Challenges:
- Growing informal (~80%) handling of PV waste → accumulates at landfills → causes acidification, leaching of toxic metals (lead, cadmium) into the soil → contaminates the local water.
- Gradual incineration releases pollutants like sulphur dioxide, hydrogen fluoride, and hydrogen cyanide into the atmosphere.
- Misinformation/ignorance about appropriate disposal practices among multiple actors and institutions (producers/owners/consumers/waste disposal facilities) across the supply chain.
- The market to recycle PV waste is minuscule in India because of a lack of suitable incentives and schemes.
- The absence of a body to measure, monitor, and report solar PV waste.
Recent initiatives by the Indian govt:
- Revised e-waste management Rules in 2022: MoEF&CC brought solar PV cells, panels, and modules under its ambit.
- Green Credit Programme: Launched under the Environmental Protection Act (1986) and announced in the UB 2022-2023, it aims to promote green growth and sustainable practices.
Best practices:
- EU: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive makes producers responsible for safely and responsibly disposing of end-of-life PV panels.
- US: States have the freedom to establish their own solar PV regulatory standards.
- Japan: Manufacturers are responsible for developing environment-friendly recycling technologies through PPP and launching awareness campaigns about their benefits.
- China: Introduced life-cycle management to improve the resource efficiency of solar PV panels. It is also developing recycling processes to recover silicon and process them back into solar wafers.
Gaps to be identified by India:
- Not to club PV waste with other e-waste. India should –
- Formulate provisions specific to PV waste treatment within the ambit of the e-waste guidelines. Build a legislative framework to enforce the Extended Producer Responsibility Rules.
- Set up a central insurance or a regulatory body to protect against financial losses incurred in waste collection and treatment.
- Not to classify PV wastes as ‘hazardous’. India should –
- Run pan-India sensitisation drives and awareness programmes,
- Specify clear recycling targets and recycling rates in the PV waste management policy.
- More attention to domestic R&D efforts promoted through suitable regulatory incentives, recycling programmes, appropriate infrastructure facilities, and adequate funding.
Conclusion: Best practices could be a good reference point for India to develop ‘Made in India’ manufacturing capabilities, recycling technologies, and waste management strategies in this field.
Insta Links:
India stares at the pile of solar e-waste
Mains Links:
What are the impediments in disposing of the huge quantities of discarded solid wastes which are continuously being generated? How do we safely remove the toxic wastes that have been accumulating in our habitable environment? (UPSC 2018)
