At the end of 2019, European Union has reached 130 670 MW of cumulative installed photovoltaic panels (PV) capacity. Particularly high annual PV capacity in the E.U. was installed in 2010-2012, while during 2019 Spain presented the maximum annual percentage increment of 76,2% compared to 2018 installed capacity. As the PV market increases, so will the volume of decommissioned PV panels. The expected growth of photovoltaic systems is bound to generate massive amounts of electronic waste in years to come. Based on the lifetime of 25 years of PV panels, the volume of PV waste will increase rapidly by 2030. The amount of PV waste volume makes the end-of-life treatment of photovoltaic systems urgent and necessary. The issue is also emerging due to the composition of photovoltaics, which includes hazardous and rare materials. The negative effects in humans during operation and decommissioning, as well as the environmental impacts of end-of-life photovoltaic panel disposal without proper treatment are analyzed in this paper. It has also been emphasized that in order to facilitate an optimal disposal scheme of hazardous substances, proper management of waste flows must be achieved. This paper intents to provide an assessment of the potential waste arising in European Union up to 2045 and end-of-life treatment of photovoltaic panels based on the material composition of PV modules with relation to the technology applied and their toxicity, aiming at the anticipated EU Ecodesign Regulation which will include related provisions, beyond the current status.
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17 August 2022
TECHNOLOGIES AND MATERIALS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY: TMREES21Gr
28–30 May 2021
Athens, Greece
Research Article|
August 17 2022
End of life treatment of photovoltaic panels. Expected volumes up to 2045 in E.U.
Constantinos S. Psomopoulos;
Constantinos S. Psomopoulos
1.
School of Engineering. Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dept, University of West Attica
, Campus 2 Thivon 250, Aigaleo, Attica, Greece
.2.
Earth Engineering Center, Columbia University
, New York NY 10027, U.S.A
.
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Konstantinos Kalkanis;
Konstantinos Kalkanis
a)
1
School of Engineering. Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dept, University of West Attica
, Campus 2 Thivon 250, Aigaleo, Attica, Greece
.a)Corresponding author: k.kalkanis@uniwa.gr
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Eleni D. Chatzistamou;
Eleni D. Chatzistamou
1
School of Engineering. Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dept, University of West Attica
, Campus 2 Thivon 250, Aigaleo, Attica, Greece
.
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Kyriaki Kiskira;
Kyriaki Kiskira
3
School of Chemical Engineering, Laboratory of Inorganic & Analytical Chemistry, National Technical University of Athens
, Heroon Polytechniou 9, 15773 Athens, Greece
.
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George Ch. Ioannidis;
George Ch. Ioannidis
1
School of Engineering. Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dept, University of West Attica
, Campus 2 Thivon 250, Aigaleo, Attica, Greece
.
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Stavros D. Kaminaris
Stavros D. Kaminaris
1
School of Engineering. Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dept, University of West Attica
, Campus 2 Thivon 250, Aigaleo, Attica, Greece
.
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a)Corresponding author: k.kalkanis@uniwa.gr
AIP Conf. Proc. 2437, 020084 (2022)
Citation
Constantinos S. Psomopoulos, Konstantinos Kalkanis, Eleni D. Chatzistamou, Kyriaki Kiskira, George Ch. Ioannidis, Stavros D. Kaminaris; End of life treatment of photovoltaic panels. Expected volumes up to 2045 in E.U.. AIP Conf. Proc. 17 August 2022; 2437 (1): 020084. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0092332
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