End of Life Treatment of Photovoltaic Panels. Expected Volumes up to 2045 in E.U.

Abstract

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 durrng 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-hfe 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-hfe 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 Umon up to 2045 and end-of-life treatment of photovoltaic panels based on the matenal composition of PV modules with relation to the technology applied andtheirtoxicity,aimmgattheanticipatedEUEcodesign Regulation which will include related provisions, beyond the current status.