Solar waste

Why is in news? Steps to address issue of solar waste

The Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy and Power has informed that the cumulative installed capacity of Solar Energy till March 31, 2014 was 2.28 GW and that as of November 30, 2023, the total cumulative installed capacity of solar energy has reached to 72.31 GW.

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India has notified the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 on 2nd November, 2022.

As per these rules, every manufacturer and producer of solar photo-voltaic modules or panels or cells shall:

Ensure registration on the portal;

Store solar photo-voltaic modules or panels or cells waste generated up to the year 2034-2035 as per the guidelines laid down by the Central Pollution Control Board in this regard;

File annual returns in the laid down form on the portal on or before the end of the year to which the return relates up to year 2034-2035;

Ensure that the processing of the waste other than solar photo-voltaic modules or panels or cells shall be done as per the applicable rules or guidelines for the time being in force;

Ensure that the inventory of solar photo-voltaic modules or panels or cells shall be put in place distinctly on portal;

Comply with standard operating procedure and guidelines laid down by the Central Pollution Control Board in this regard.

Further, the recycler of solar photo-voltaic modules or panels or cells shall be mandated for recovery of material as laid down by the Central Pollution Control Board in this regard.

The E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 provides that the Department of Industry in the State and Union territory or any other government agency authorized in this regard by the State Government or the Union territory, as the case may be, shall ensure earmarking or allocation of industrial space or shed for e-waste dismantling and recycling in the existing and upcoming industrial park, estate and industrial clusters.

Solar waste:

Solar wastes are the electronic waste generated by discarded solar panels. They are sold as scrap in the country.

It can increase by at least four-five-fold by the next decade. India should focus its attention on drafting comprehensive rules to deal with solar waste.

Globally, India has the world’s fourth-highest solar PV deployment.

The installed solar capacity was nearly 62GW in November 2022.

India is expected to become one of the top five leading photovoltaic waste producers worldwide by 2050.

According to a 2016 report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, India could generate 50,000-3,25,000 tonnes of PV waste by 2030 and more than four million tonnes by 2050.