A Systematic Literature Review of the Solar Photovoltaic Value Chain for a Circular Economy

As the solar photovoltaic market booms, so will the volume of photovoltaic (PV) systems entering the waste stream. The same is forecast for lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles, which at the end of their automotive life can be given a second life by serving as stationary energy storage units for renewable energy sources, including solar PV. The main objective of this paper is to systematically review the “state-of-the-art” research on the solar PV value chain (i.e., from product design to product end-of-life), including its main stages, processes, and stakeholder relationships, in order to identify areas along the value chain where circular strategies could be implemented, thereby advancing the transition of the PV industry towards circularity. To achieve this goal, we conducted a systematic literature review of 148 peer-reviewed articles, published in English between 2000 and 2020. Results show the PV value chain has been studied from a forward flow supply chain perspective and mostly from a technological point of view, with little regard for circular design, circular business models, and PV reuse. This article thus takes an integrated value chain perspective, introduces some of the barriers to circularity that industry players face, and argues that these barriers represent future opportunities for incumbent and new entrants to innovate within a circular PV industry

Collaboration towards value creation for end-of-life solar photovoltaic panel in Ghana

This paper identifies value creation strategies and the role of stakeholders in advancing sustainable practices for end-of-life (henceforth EOL) solar photovoltaic panels (solar PV) in Ghana. This is preceded by an overview of the global outlook of sustainable practices for EOL solar PV as well as how these can be promoted in a developing country like Ghana. The framework discusses and promotes efficient collaboration towards value creation by stakeholders in advancing sustainable practices for end-of-life solar PV in Ghana. The methodology centers on an integrative review aimed at identifying the different aspects leading to a value creation framework for EOL solar PV. The paper discusses a hybrid public-private partnership (HPPP), which includes the types of synergy between different actors as well as their clear roles. The core options available to government, businesses and end-users in the value creation includes the provision of a technical solution, improved logistics and innovative business opportunities. The aforementioned options will achieve reduction, reuse, repair and/or recycling, targeted at promoting a unique collaboration between all relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, such options present an opportunity to promote awareness utilizing education in sustainability, thus promoting the need for extending the useful lifecycle of the products.© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Circular solar: Evaluating the profitability of a photovoltaic panel recycling plant

Photovoltaic (PV) panels have a crucial role in coping with the global warming mitigation and the energetic crisis currently affecting the European Community. However, from the circular perspective of end-of-life (EoL) management, there are still big issues to be solved in order to recover materials from this kind of e-wastes. Because of several reasons (e.g. type of embedded materials, illegal shipments, location of manufacturers) EoL businesses do not have the interest in approaching them. This poses a significant environmental concern in terms of their management. This work wants to assess the profitability of a specific PV module recycling plant, by evaluating several market contexts in which multiple scenarios of material price, investment and process costs will be considered. The results for a 3000 tonnes plant show that profitability is not verified in the absence of an avoided landfill cost. Instead, when a value of 200 euro/tonnes is applied, the net present value is positive in 35.2% of the scenarios and at 87.6% when a value of 350 euro/tonnes is considered. The policy choice of this value requires linking the PV module disposal fee to the circular benefits associated with its recovery

Sustainability Informed Management of End-of-Life Photovoltaics: Assessing Environmental and Economic Tradeoffs of Collection and Recycling

Renewable energy technologies have emerged to address the negative environmental impacts of increasing use of fossil fuels. Solar photovoltaics (PV) are an attractive renewable energy technology because they avoid significant carbon emissions during use common to non-renewables, have a long useful lifetime estimated at 20 - 30 years, and they take advantage of a stable and plentiful energy resource - the sun. However, it has been suggested that material availability is a potential constraint for broad deployment of PV. For example, solar PV\u27s core technology depends on several primary materials i.e. indum and tellurium which were recently determined to be of high importance for the development of a clean energy economy and at near-critical supply risk. In order to evaluate the risks to supply, the environment, and the economy a broader definition of criticality that goes beyond physical scarcity to include sustainability metrics e.g. embodied energy, political instability, economic value was developed. Using this methodology several policies are suggested that depart from traditional command- and-control approaches. One criticality mitigating strategy, material recycling, is at odds with current PV research where there is a strong emphasis on efficiency gains. Recycling is a strategy with potential that has yet to be fully recognized due to the current lack of collection infrastructure and uncertain set of processing technologies. This work explores under what conditions the energy payback time (EPBT) of PV modules containing recycled materials demonstrate equivalent energy savings to improvements in efficiency. These EPBT improvements from recycling motivate further methodological work on the economically optimal PV recycling infrastructure. This methodology includes a case study that demonstrates model sensitivity in addition to revealing important tradeoffs for recycling policy and economics

Photovoltaic Waste Management and Implementing Extended Producer Responsibility in the Solar Industry in California

Electronic waste issues impact humans and the environment, primarily because most industrial designs have not considered the impact of products when they reach their end-of-life (EOL) stage. This study focuses on photovoltaic (PV) modules that are widely installed in California residential properties. While PV modules do not generate waste while operating, they will become waste at the end of their expected lifespan of 25 to 40 years. Thus, it is important to identify PV waste management strategies before the materials in the modules become a discard problem. In California, despite hazardous materials that are used in the production of PV modules, there has been no legislative or regulatory action related to PV waste. As a result, the management options and destinations for PV waste are not clear. This study projects the PV waste growth in California, investigates PV waste management, and includes stakeholders’ perspectives on the application of extended producer responsibility (EPR) for PV modules. It also estimates the optimal locations for collecting PV waste in the San Francisco Bay Area, which would be an integral action to close the open loop that exists between production and discarding of EOL products. The results of this study revealed that the regulation should be adaptable and may be the key factor to affect the whole value chain of the material loop in the environment. The developed model in this study could be used as a reference in the future to develop a PV waste collection system in California

The necessity for end-of-life photovoltaic technology waste management policy: a systematic review

Photovoltaic (PV) technologies in the energy industry are crucial for transitioning to a decarbonized era that relies on renewable energy sources. This systematic review aimed to identify the potential environmental impacts associated with the entire life cycle of PV technologies. To accomplish this, the review analysed literature from the last five years focused on life cycle assessment and evaluating PV technologies' environmental impacts/toxicity. In total, 72 final articles were collected and analysed, considering the year of publication, research methodology, and geographical context. Although there is substantial knowledge regarding potential impacts associated with end-of-life (EoL) PV technologies, only a limited number of regions have specific regulations regarding PV waste. With the incorporation of circular economy principles, targeted strategies for EoL treatments can be developed and implemented, leading to a substantial reduction in the environmental impacts caused by EoL PV modules, where this aspect represents a critical concern within the context of PV technologies. Therefore, this study emphasises the need to integrate life cycle assessment, circular economy, and systems thinking to achieve more sustainable development when utilizing PV technologies so that the diffusion of PV technologies helps decarbonization transitions without creating major unintended environmental problems in waste systems

Circular Business Models for the Solar Power Industry - Guide for Policy Makers

Solar power and electric vehicles (EV) are set to play a leading role in the achievement of the 2030 EU renewable targets and the commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050. Importantly, solar photovoltaics (PV), in combination with energy storage, also has the potential to significantly enhance European energy security, provide citizens and industry with competitive energy, and lead to the creation of thousands of jobs in manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and end-of-life management. While the expected rapid growth of the solar power sector over the coming decade will bring along various resource and waste management challenges, following a circular economy strategy can ensure that these will be handled in a proactive and future-proof manner. Furthermore, a circular economy approach will offer the European solar industry new business opportunities in the design and manufacturing of circular-ready products, as well as in the reuse, refurbishment and recycling of older solar panels.In response to the emerging resource and waste challenges of the solar power and battery sectors, the CIRCUSOL Innovation Action project (funded by the Horizon2020 programme of the European Commission) explored a number of innovative approaches and strategies towards circular business models in these two sectors. Specifically, the project focused on four circularity strategies: (1) reuse of discarded PV panels in second-life applications, and enabled through service-based business models; (2) repurposing of EVBs in second-life applications, specifically for stationary storage of solar power, and enabled through service-based business models; (3) ecodesign of PV panels; and (4) recycling of PV panels through innovative techniques.This guide for policy makers is based on the lessons learned in the CIRCUSOL project from 2018-2022. It compiles key findings from the project and seeks to sketch out pathways and strategies on the way forward. As such, the report aims to contribute to a debate across policy makers, industry representatives, experts and other stakeholders about a potential future policy and governance framework that could catalyze the transition towards circular and resource-efficient solar power and EV battery sectors in Europe