Solar waste handling policy

  • IASbaba
  • February 17, 2022
  • 0
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Solar waste handling policy

Part of: Prelims and GS-III Renewable energy

Context: The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has estimated that the global photovoltaic waste will touch 78 million tonnes by 2050.

  • India is expected to be one of the top five generators of such waste.

Key takeaways 

  • While India is increasing its solar power capacity, it does not yet have a firm policy on managing waste that results from used solar panels or from the manufacturing process.
    • India currently considers solar waste a part of electronic waste and does not account for it separately.
  • Also, There is no commercial raw material recovery facility for solar e-waste operational in India.
  • But a pilot facility for solar panel recycling and material recovery had been set up by a private company in Gummidipoondi in Tamil Nadu.

Solar Energy in India

Do you know?

  • The cumulative capacity of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) installations is around 40 GW.
  • The capacity of about 35.6 GW is generated from ground-mounted plants and 4.4 GW from rooftop solar. 
    • A gigawatt is a 1,000 megawatt.
  • Solar Photovoltaic: Solar photovoltaic (SPV) cells convert solar radiation (sunlight) into electricity.  A solar cell is a semi-conducting device made of silicon and/or other materials, which, when exposed to sunlight, generates electricity.

News Source: TH

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