Sustainable Solar Photovoltaics: Utilising operational characteristics for end-of-life management

Renewable electricity generating solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are indispensable for addressing climate change. International Renewable Energy Agency projects 8500 GW of solar PV worldwide by 2050. British energy security strategy aims for 70GW of solar PV by 2035 while global installed capacity crossed 1TW. Consequently, solar waste, predicted to reach 8 million tonnes by 2030 and 78 million tonnes by 2050 globally, will emerge as a serious challenge. It will further rise due to extreme weather events, transport/handling damage and early replacements. Moreover, critical raw material requirements in PV burdens planetary boundaries and concentrated value chains pose risks to energy security. Thus, it is indispensable to adopt circular economy (CE) strategies in solar PV industry.

This workshop aims to emphasise the importance of operational phase (in-field) characteristics of the PV systems in context of their end-of-life (EOL) management. We are inviting solar photovoltaic (PV) value chain members (including asset owners/developers/installers/O&M service providers etc) in the UK and world-wide for the A stakeholder engagement workshop. It is organised as a part of EPSRC IAA funded project titled ‘Circular Economy Avenues for Solar photovoltaic Energy systems (CEASE)’. This project explored feasibility of utilising operational/use phase characteristics of PV systems to determine appropriate end-of-life management pathway – repair, reuse or recycle using life cycle thinking approach.