Title:	End-of-Life Management of Solar Photovoltaic Panels in India - Identification of Needs, Stakeholders & Challenges
Author(s):	K. Ganesan, C. Valderrama
Keywords:	c-Si, Environmental Effect, PV Materials, Recycling, PV Module
Topic:	Photovoltaic Modules and BoS Components
Subtopic:	Sustainability and Recycling
Event:	38th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition
Session:	4DV.2.15
Pages:	888 - 896
ISBN:	3-936338-78-7
Paper DOI:	10.4229/EUPVSEC20212021-4DV.2.15
Price:	0,00 EUR
Document(s):	paper, poster

Abstract/Summary:

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Solar Photovoltaic systems create a positive impact by bringing energy equity, security, and environmental sustainability to societies across the World. Given the current volume of installations, especially in India, and those planned in the future, the need to sustainably manage Solar PV panels at the end of their useful life is undeniable. This study outlines the need for the sustainable end of life management of crystalline silicon solar panels in India. Apart from avoiding environmental impact due to unsafe disposal, sustainable end of life management can relieve raw material supply constraints. A material criticality analysis is conducted on forecasted PV panel production in India until 2050. The results highlight the various raw material supply constraints and the volume of materials embedded within PV panels until 2050 with respect to the current production volumes. This study also provides an interactive stakeholder map displaying the location and the related parameters of potential PV waste generation sites and downstream recyclers in India for end-of-life management of PV panels. A preliminary zone-wise analysis has been carried out to identify a geographical mismatch between stakeholder locations that could affect the transportation of waste in the future and tentatively quantity the number of PV takeback and recycling centres needed in India in the near future. This map can serve as a reference for future studies to be carried out for location optimization of PV takeback and recycling centres in India.