A local study found that total waste from photovoltaic (PV) panels in the governorates of Irbid, Jerash, Ajloun and Mafraq (the study area), will reach 89,245 cubic meters, and that hazardous materials from it, such as plastic, metals, silicon and glass, will top 33,022 tons after the end of a panel’s lifespan by 2040.
The study by a Jordanian research team from local universities showed that the weight of lead in the waste is up to 79 tons, tin 39 tons, plastic 3,669 tons, aluminum 3,406 tons and glass 24,443 tons after the year 2040, pointing out that recycling the waste carries great economic potential.
The research aims to shed light and offer an estimate of the size of PV waste in the coming decades in the Kingdom, and its projected economic and environmental impacts through highlighting the quantities of waste materials in northern Jordan, as a sample that can be generalized to the rest of the country.
The study, which was published in an international refereed journal, called for spreading awareness about waste from PV panels and how to deal with them at the end of their lifespan among the sectors dealing with photovoltaic solar energy, including companies, installers, legislators, concerned bodies and others.
It recommended highlighting waste that will occur, stressing the need to introduce legislation and instructions to regulate and impose measures for the safe and proper management of the waste.
It also recommended designating areas for collecting waste to prevent pollution and building facilities to treat, recycle or reuse the waste.
According to reports, installed PV capacity worldwide was about 410 GW in 2017, which is expected to soar to 5,000 GW by 2050, and that global PV solar energy waste will reach 5-15 percent of the total capacity generation by 2030, assuming 25 years as the average lifespan of a PV panel, the study showed.
SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY