Photovoltaic (PV) Panel Waste Volumes

Photovoltaic (PV) Panel Waste Volumes

Summary

Beyond general waste regulations, various approaches have been developed specifically to manage end-of-life PV panel waste. In this series, the financial principles of panel waste management as well as the enabled framework headings are summarized for Japan, the United States, and China.

R&D in PV Panel Recycling in Japan - PV Market and Waste Projection

In Japan, PV R&D work has been conducted by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), and several PV panel recycling projects have been implemented. Figure 1 shows an example of PV recycling technology developed under NEDO in 2014. The technology enables automatic separation of different panel types (c-Si, thin-film Si, and copper indium selenide – CIS) and consists of four main processes: aluminum frame extraction, back layer removal, ethylene-vinyl-acetate resin incineration, and CIS layer scraping (for CIS panels only). The technology is currently in the pilot phase. Depending on panel type and size, the early loss annual capacity is approximately 12 MW for c-Si panels and 7 MW for CIS panels. Long-term field tests are required to verify potential industrial-scale performance, including operating costs, efficiency, and stability. The objective of a NEDO PV recycling R&D project implemented was to contribute to an existing social system for PV recycling. This was achieved by establishing low-cost recycling technology and investigating optimal separation, collection, and sorting. The R&D project has progressed to the demonstration phase since 2015. Further R&D for low-cost reuse technologies was initiated in 2016 and completed in 2018. In Japan, there is no specific plan for processing end-of-life PV panels, so they are expected to be handled in much the same way as other industrial waste. PV panels will be removed from buildings or installation sites and transported to intermediate processors for waste treatment. There, PV panel components will be separated as much as possible, valuable materials recovered and recycled. Or, for example, recoverable metals will be transported to companies that refine metals and recycle them as secondary metals. Separated glass that maintains high purity will be recycled as cullet. Materials that are difficult to separate, recover, and recycle will be sent to regular landfills subject to hazardous content regulations and classification.

Summary Outlook for Japan

Despite the lack of current statistical data on end-of-life PV panels in Japan, given the market growth that has reached significant levels only recently, volumes will likely remain low in the near term. Although Japan lacks specific regulations for end-of-life photovoltaic panels, various political trends and R&D activities are helping to establish a foundation for recovery and recycling.

United States: Installed Base Not PV-Specific, Growing Market Waste Regulations

PV Panel Market and Waste Projection

Since the mid-2000s, the US PV market has grown rapidly, with cumulative installed capacity exceeding 25 GW by the end of 2015. With only 7.2 GW of new PV capacity installed in 2015 alone, the US today presents the world's fourth-largest PV market after China, Germany, and Japan. Large-scale PV deployment in the US has occurred only in the past decade. For this reason, cumulative end-of-life PV waste volumes in the US remained low at 6,500-24,000 tons by the end of 2016. Cumulative waste is estimated to increase to between 170,000 tons and 1 million tons by 2030, and then likely increase sevenfold to 7.5-10 million tons by 2050 (see Figure 2).

Regulatory and Non-Regulatory Framework

In the US, there is no PV-specific waste law and no regulation mandating the collection and recycling of end-of-life PV panels. Therefore, PV panels must be disposed of in accordance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the legal framework for managing hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. Since the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act contains no specific requirements for PV panels, they must be addressed within the general regulatory framework for waste management. For example, there are two types of hazardous waste – characteristic hazardous waste and listed hazardous waste. The latter refers to actual lists of specific hazardous waste types. Since end-of-life PV panels are not listed as hazardous waste, they must be evaluated using the characteristic hazardous waste method (US Environmental Protection Agency Method 1311 Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure). This is done by evaluating whether an extract taken from a representative waste sample contains contaminants exceeding legal levels. Within the US, different states may use additional leaching procedures such as Total Threshold Limit Concentration for waste classification and Soluble Threshold Limit Concentration, as in California. In California's 2014-2015 legislative session, Senate Bill 489 was proposed. It gives the California Department of Toxic Substances Control authority to change the end-of-life classification of solar PV panels as hazardous waste for waste. This means they will meet Total Threshold Limit Concentration/Soluble Threshold Limit Concentration standards and be subject to Toxic Substances Control Department regulations and appropriate management. The bill has now been adopted into California law. However, the US Environmental Protection Agency will not take effect until only California allows the addition of hazardous waste PV panels as an additional universal waste category under California's hazardous waste program. Voluntary collection and recycling of end-of-life PV panels has been provided by various PV industry stakeholders. For example, First Solar operates a commercial-scale recycling facility in Ohio with a capacity of 30 tons per day for CdTe products. The US Solar Energy Industries Association has a corporate social responsibility committee reviewing developments related to PV recycling.

Summary Outlook for United States

Currently, there are no federal regulations in the US on the collection and recycling of end-of-life PV panels, and therefore general waste regulations apply in the country. California is in the process of developing regulations for the management of end-of-life PV panels within its borders, but there are several steps to be taken before implementation of these regulations.

China: Leading Market Without PV-Specific Waste Regulations

PV Market and Waste Projection

In 2015, China installed 15 GW of PV capacity and for the second consecutive year achieved its target of 10 GW for average annual growth, maintaining its position as the world's largest PV market. In December 2015, the National Energy Administration released the 13th National Solar Energy Plan 2016-2020. The proposed main near-term targets through 2020 are a cumulative installation of 150 GW PV. This consists of 70 GW distributed PV and 80 GW large-scale ground-mounted PV. This plan projects a cumulative PV panel waste stream of 8,000-100,000 tons in 2020. It is expected to increase to between 200,000 tons and 1.5 million tons by 2030, and to 13.5-19.9 million tons by 2050 (see Figure 3). Due to China's rapidly developing PV industry, PV panel recycling is receiving increased attention from the government and PV manufacturers.

China's PV Panel Waste Estimates

China has developed its own PV panel waste estimates through the Institute of Electrical Engineering (IEE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The IEE produced two case scenarios (CAS), a business-as-usual scenario and a better treatment scenario. Both take into account different operating and maintenance behaviors over the useful life of deployed panels. Overall, IEE estimates resemble the results of normal loss and early loss scenarios through 2034. The two IEE scenarios' annual estimates have risen from between 61,250 tons and 87,000 tons for 2025 to 262,000-330,000 tons in 2030. From 2034 onwards, the IEE scenarios show higher end-of-life volumes than this report's scenarios, with 900,000 tons per year and 1.1 million tons per year respectively for 2034 (see Figure 3).

Regulatory and Non-Regulatory Frameworks

Currently, China has no specific requirements for end-of-life processing of PV panels. In February 2009, the State Council promulgated the Regulation on the Recycling and Management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products, which entered into force in January 2011. The 2011 regulation requires the collection of e-waste in various ways and its recycling in a centralized processing system. Manufacturers may collect and recycle their products themselves or entrust collection to retailers, after-sales service agencies, or e-waste recyclers, and entrust the recycling/disposal operation to authorized organizations. However, PV panels are currently not included in the waste electrical and electronic products processing regulations. Due to the current low waste volume, China does not have an advanced PV panel recycling industry. From 2012 to 2015, China sponsored R&D on PV recycling technologies under China's National High-Technology R&D Program for PV Recycling and Safe Disposal Research, focusing on two recycling methods for c-Si PV. These methods are based either on physical or thermal recycling. In the physical method – including crushing, cryogenic grinding, and separation – various processes yield a mixture of aluminum, glass cullet, copper, ethylene-vinyl-acetate and back layer particles, as well as silicon dust. The recycling rate by mass is approximately 90 percent, but silicon is not recycled for use in the PV industry due to low purity. In the thermal method, clean cell residues undergo a thermal process and are then used in chemical experiments for the recycling of silicon, silver, and aluminum, and are not recycled for use in the PV industry due to low purity. In the thermal method, clean cell residues undergo a thermal process and are then used in chemical experiments for the recycling of silicon, silver, and aluminum.

Summary Outlook for China

China currently has no specific regulation for end-of-life PV panels, and related technology research has only recently begun. However, the National High-Technology R&D Program for PV Recycling and Safe Disposal Research provides policy and technology signals for the future. On the policy side, the need for specific laws and regulations for PV panel recycling at end-of-life includes targets for recycling rates and the establishment of necessary financial frameworks. On the technology and R&D side, recommendations focus on developing and demonstrating highly efficient, low-cost, and low energy-consuming recycling technologies and processes for c-Si and thin-film PV panels. For this reason, special emphasis should be placed on improving on-site/mobile recycling and disposal platforms for c-Si PV power plants.

India: PV-Specific Waste Regulations Without Growing Market

PV Market and Waste Projection

Since 2012, India has installed over 1 GW of PV per year and reached approximately 5 GW of cumulative capacity by 2015. This places India among the top ten PV markets in the world today. India's power sector faces two main challenges. First, it must alleviate energy poverty (more than one-third of India's population lacks access to electricity). Second, it must meet increasing electricity demand from rapid economic growth (electricity demand is projected to increase five to six times by mid-century). This represents a significant opportunity for renewable energy, including PV. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) targets the installation of 100 GW of grid-connected PV systems by 2022. PV in India also represents an alternative to conventional grids, and JNNSM targets the installation of 2 GW of off-grid systems. Since large-scale PV deployment has occurred only recently, large end-of-life PV waste volumes in India may not be expected until after 2030. Figure 4 shows India's expected end-of-life PV panel waste volumes between 2016 and 2050. According to this, minimal waste is projected for 2016. However, through 2030, waste may average 50,000-320,000 tons and likely reach 4.4-7.5 million tons by 2050 (depending on the scenario selected).

Regulatory and Non-Regulatory Frameworks

In India, there are no regulations mandating the collection, recovery, and recycling of end-of-life PV panels. This means that waste PV panels currently produced fall under general waste regulations. Waste is managed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under the 2016 Solid Waste Management Rules and the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules. And recently amended Hazardous Waste Rules include the use of the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure. The transport of hazardous waste requires permission from the State Pollution Control Board, and interstate transport is permitted under certain conditions. Legislation covering general e-waste requirements and restrictions on the use of hazardous substances in electrical products is set out in the 2016 E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules. However, these rules apply only to consumer electronics, not to PV. Accordingly, India already has industrial-scale e-waste recycling infrastructure, but it covers only consumer electronics, not PV.

Summary Outlook for India

In 2015, the original JNNSM deployment target of 20 GW of grid-connected PV systems through 2022 was updated to 100 GW through 2022. If supported by financing and grid infrastructure, progress toward the updated target aims to increase end-of-life PV panel waste volume projections for India through 2030 and especially 2050. In our next article, we will continue on creating value from end-of-life PV panels. Wishing you and your loved ones healthy days.   Dr. Cemil Koyunoğlu Department of Energy Systems Engineering Faculty of Engineering Yalova University