IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i23p16466-d1291894.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The End of Life of PV Systems: Is Europe Ready for It?

Author

Listed:
  • Mladen Bošnjaković

    (Technical Department, University of Slavonski Brod, Trg Ivane Brlić Mažuranić 2, 35000 Slavonski Brod, Croatia)

  • Mato Galović

    (Technical School, E. Kumičića 55, 35000 Slavonski Brod, Croatia)

  • Jasmin Kuprešak

    (Technical Department, University of Slavonski Brod, Trg Ivane Brlić Mažuranić 2, 35000 Slavonski Brod, Croatia)

  • Tomislav Bošnjaković

    (Inženjering Gradnja, d.o.o., Ulica 108. brigade ZNG 40, 35000 Slavonski Brod, Croatia)

Abstract

Like other plants, every photovoltaic (PV) power plant will one day reach the end of its service life. Calculations show that 96,000 tons of PV module waste will be generated worldwide by 2030 and 86 million tons by 2050. Such large quantities of waste can endanger the environment and people if they are not disposed of properly. This paper investigated how photovoltaic waste is currently handled, how this problem is legally regulated and to what extent reuse, recycling and disposal are represented. As recycling is the best option in terms of environmental protection and a circular economy, an overview of recycling technologies and recovery rates for the materials contained in the PV system is given. Currently, there are a small number of recycling plants for PV modules in Europe, but none in the Balkan countries. The main reason for this is the small amount of PV waste in these countries, which is far below the profitability threshold for the recycling of 19,000 t/year, and even below the reduced threshold of 9000 t/year. The analysis shows that only seven EU member states will exceed this threshold by 2040, and more than half of the EU member states will not even reach this threshold by 2050. For this reason, PV modules (after dismantling the aluminum frame and cables) are mostly disposed of in landfills in these countries. This is an indication that this problem should be seriously addressed in the EU. In this context, the main obstacles to the reuse and recycling of PV modules are listed, together with guidelines for their removal.

Suggested Citation

  • Mladen Bošnjaković & Mato Galović & Jasmin Kuprešak & Tomislav Bošnjaković, 2023. "The End of Life of PV Systems: Is Europe Ready for It?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-22, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:23:p:16466-:d:1291894
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/23/16466/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/23/16466/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Xintong & Xue, Jingguo & Hou, Xueliang, 2023. "Barriers analysis to Chinese waste photovoltaic module recycling under the background of "double carbon"," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 39-54.
    2. Hou, Guofu & Sun, Honghang & Jiang, Ziying & Pan, Ziqiang & Wang, Yibo & Zhang, Xiaodan & Zhao, Ying & Yao, Qiang, 2016. "Life cycle assessment of grid-connected photovoltaic power generation from crystalline silicon solar modules in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 882-890.
    3. Maciej Chrzanowski & Piotr Zawada, 2023. "Fraction Separation Potential in the Recycling Process of Photovoltaic Panels at the Installation Site—A Conceptual Framework from an Economic and Ecological Safety Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-10, February.
    4. Bustamante, Michele L. & Gaustad, Gabrielle, 2014. "Challenges in assessment of clean energy supply-chains based on byproduct minerals: A case study of tellurium use in thin film photovoltaics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 397-414.
    5. Magdalena Bogacka & Martyna Potempa & Bartłomiej Milewicz & Dariusz Lewandowski & Krzysztof Pikoń & Katarzyna Klejnowska & Piotr Sobik & Edyta Misztal, 2020. "PV Waste Thermal Treatment According to the Circular Economy Concept," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-13, December.
    6. Tholkappiyan Ramachandran & Abdel-Hamid I. Mourad & Fathalla Hamed, 2022. "A Review on Solar Energy Utilization and Projects: Development in and around the UAE," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-27, May.
    7. Mladen Bošnjaković & Robert Santa & Zoran Crnac & Tomislav Bošnjaković, 2023. "Environmental Impact of PV Power Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-26, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Eva Gerold & Helmut Antrekowitsch, 2024. "Advancements and Challenges in Photovoltaic Cell Recycling: A Comprehensive Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-18, March.
    2. Mladen Bošnjaković & Robert Santa & Zoran Crnac & Tomislav Bošnjaković, 2023. "Environmental Impact of PV Power Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-26, August.
    3. Hu, Xueyue & Wang, Chunying & Elshkaki, Ayman, 2024. "Material-energy Nexus: A systematic literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    4. Krexner, T. & Bauer, A. & Gronauer, A. & Mikovits, C. & Schmidt, J. & Kral, I., 2024. "Environmental life cycle assessment of a stilted and vertical bifacial crop-based agrivoltaic multi land-use system and comparison with a mono land-use of agricultural land," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    5. Mariusz Niekurzak & Wojciech Lewicki & Hasan Huseyin Coban & Agnieszka Brelik, 2023. "Conceptual Design of a Semi-Automatic Process Line for Recycling Photovoltaic Panels as a Way to Ecological Sustainable Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-20, February.
    6. Hui Fang Yu & Md. Hasanuzzaman & Nasrudin Abd Rahim & Norridah Amin & Noriah Nor Adzman, 2022. "Global Challenges and Prospects of Photovoltaic Materials Disposal and Recycling: A Comprehensive Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-41, July.
    7. Ludin, Norasikin Ahmad & Mustafa, Nur Ifthitah & Hanafiah, Marlia M. & Ibrahim, Mohd Adib & Asri Mat Teridi, Mohd & Sepeai, Suhaila & Zaharim, Azami & Sopian, Kamaruzzaman, 2018. "Prospects of life cycle assessment of renewable energy from solar photovoltaic technologies: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 11-28.
    8. Zhang, Xiaoyue & Huang, Guohe & Liu, Lirong & Li, Kailong, 2022. "Development of a stochastic multistage lifecycle programming model for electric power system planning – A case study for the Province of Saskatchewan, Canada," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    9. Yadav, Deepak & Banerjee, Rangan, 2020. "Net energy and carbon footprint analysis of solar hydrogen production from the high-temperature electrolysis process," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    10. Qi, Xiaoyan & Yao, Xilong & Guo, Pibin & Han, Yunfei & Liu, Lin, 2024. "Applying life cycle assessment to investigate the environmental impacts of a PV–CSP hybrid system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    11. Maria A. Franco & Stefan N. Groesser, 2021. "A Systematic Literature Review of the Solar Photovoltaic Value Chain for a Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-35, August.
    12. Gao, Chengkang & Zhu, Sulong & An, Nan & Na, Hongming & You, Huan & Gao, Chengbo, 2021. "Comprehensive comparison of multiple renewable power generation methods: A combination analysis of life cycle assessment and ecological footprint," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    13. Lingling Hu & Junming Zhou & Feng Jiang & Guangming Xie & Jie Hu & Qinglie Mo, 2023. "Research on Optimization of Valley-Filling Charging for Vehicle Network System Based on Multi-Objective Optimization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-25, December.
    14. Krebs-Moberg, Miles & Pitz, Mandy & Dorsette, Tiara L. & Gheewala, Shabbir H., 2021. "Third generation of photovoltaic panels: A life cycle assessment," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 556-565.
    15. Bonou, Alexandra & Laurent, Alexis & Olsen, Stig I., 2016. "Life cycle assessment of onshore and offshore wind energy-from theory to application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 327-337.
    16. Valerii Havrysh & Antonina Kalinichenko & Edyta Szafranek & Vasyl Hruban, 2022. "Agricultural Land: Crop Production or Photovoltaic Power Plants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-23, April.
    17. M. A. Parvez Mahmud & Nazmul Huda & Shahjadi Hisan Farjana & Candace Lang, 2018. "Environmental Impacts of Solar-Photovoltaic and Solar-Thermal Systems with Life-Cycle Assessment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-21, September.
    18. Elshkaki, Ayman & Graedel, T.E., 2015. "Solar cell metals and their hosts: A tale of oversupply and undersupply," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 167-177.
    19. Song, Huiling & Wang, Chang & Sun, Kun & Geng, Hongjun & Zuo, Lyushui, 2023. "Material efficiency strategies across the industrial chain to secure indium availability for global carbon neutrality," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    20. Wang, Zanxin & Wei, Wei, 2017. "External cost of photovoltaic oriented silicon production: A case in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 437-447.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:23:p:16466-:d:1291894. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.