Investigate technical, policy and business approaches to addressing stewardship and circularity for end-of-life for PV system

Abstract

There has been exponential growth in the PV market around the world in the last decade. Although this growth is needed to reduce carbon emissions of energy production, this growth has resulted in a growth in PV waste as well. With the estimated global PV capacity of 4500 GW by 2050, PV waste would also accumulate to 78 million tons by 2050 for early loss and 60 million tons for regular loss scenarios. By 2020, Crystalline Silicon (c-Si) panels, which are first generation PV panels, accounted for 73% of total PV market share. This research studies global PV end-of-life (EOL) management policies, available technologies and business models for c-Si panels with the aim of proposing a policy, technology and business solution for the state of Michigan. Literature review was the main research approach used. Most of the countries in the world and many major PV installers do not have PV EOL management policies. With the revision of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive in 2012, the EU became the first entity in the world to have a PV EOL management policy. This directive is based on the extended-producer responsibility (EPR). Based on the different PV EOL management policies, guidelines and waste amount, the UK, Italy, Germany, Japan, China, Taiwan, and the United States are the countries focused on in this policy review. On the technology side, Full Recovery End of Life Photovoltaic (FRELP), a process developed at Arizona State University (ASU), and Photovoltaic Panel Mobile Recycling Device (PVMoReDe) are analyzed due to their recycling rate, economic value of recycling materials and PV waste availability in Michigan. For the business side, centralized and decentralized models are considered.