‘Enabling a Circular Economy in India’s Solar Industry: Assessing the Solar Waste Quantum’ Report | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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    ‘Enabling a Circular Economy in India’s Solar Industry: Assessing the Solar Waste Quantum’ Report

    Posted 27 Mar 2024

    Updated 30 Mar 2024

    2 min read

    • Report has been developed by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), under the NITI Aayog Action Plan for Circular Economy (CE) – Solar Panels
      • NITI Aayog has finalized 10 sectoral CE action plans for implementation by stakeholder ministries/departments. 

     

    • Need for Solar Waste Management:
      • India’s installed 66.7 GW capacity (FY23), has generated about 100 kilotonnes (kt) of waste, with cumulative waste increasing to 600 kt by 2030.
      • Solar waste contains:
        • Critical minerals such as silicon, copper, tellurium, and cadmium, whose recycling will reduce import dependency.
        • Toxic metals like lead and cadmium, which can contaminate water and soil and impact workforce health. 
        • Metals like silver and silicon, having high economic value with applications in manufacturing industries. 

     

    • Recommendations:
      • Maintain a comprehensive database of the installed solar capacity for accurate mapping of waste generation centres.
      • Solar cell and module producers should start developing waste collection and storage centres to adhere to the E-waste Management Rules 2022.
      • Promoting safe recycling of and recovery from solar waste.
      • Academia and industry should accelerate module recycling technology innovation.

     

    Initiatives for Circular Economy in India’s Solar Energy Sector

    • Report on Circular Economy in Solar Panels to NITI Aayog
    • Solar PV cells made part of Electronic Waste (Management) Rules 2022
    • Solar PV recycling as priority thrust area under Renewable Energy Research and Technology Development (RE-RTD) Programme
    • Tags :
    • Waste Management
    • Solar Energy
    • Circular Economy
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