Writer: H M Remi

To achieve net-zero emission by 2050 (NZE2050) is an ambitious target among nations. According to an estimation by International Energy Agency (IEA), we need to increase the share of renewables in the global electricity supply from 27% in 2019 to 60% in 2030 to achieve this goal. 

A study reported that up to the first six months of 2020, wind and solar power shared 10% of the global electricity generation. Solar energy is undoubtedly one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sources worldwide. 

Yet, when we greatly increase the use of solar energy, we must further understand protecting the environment better. Solar panels are photovoltaic modules mainly made of glass, plastic, silicon and other heavy metals. Either landfill or incineration of dead solar panels will lead to underground water pollution or release of toxic gases.

Generally, in Hong Kong, when solar panels reach the end of their lifespan in around 25 years, the manufacturers will disassemble and recycle them with support from the contractors under the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) requirements.

Hong Kong does not have its solar panel recycling industry, and we need to do the clean-up through contractors and return the used solar panel modules to the manufacturers for recycling. However, the government has already got the estimated figure. By 2030, there will be hundreds of thousands, even over a million solar panels in use in the city. We hope that there will be investments for developing the relevant industry as soon as possible.

Every solar panel has an EVA sealing film that keeps its components together to make it strong and durable. One of the challenges of recycling solar panels is to remove this film completely. But the good news is that the researchers from the state-run Korea Institute of Energy Research(KIER) have figured the way out! Their researchers claimed that they have developed a technology that no matter the photovoltaic modules were damaged or not, the retrieval rate of the glass materials is 100%. The recovery rate of the other components also reaches 80% that can even be applied to the new solar panels. Researchers have successfully found a solution to refine silicon collected from 72 discarded commercial panels into six-inch single crystal ingots and wafers. Lee Jin-seok, KIER’s Principal Investigator, expressed that this technology is key to the net-zero emission because recycling one solar panel reduces 1.2 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The Korean government is also planning, by 2023, to launch the "extended producer responsibility" policy, in which penalties will be charged to the manufacturers or importers of solar panels if they do not retrieve and recycle dead solar panels at a certain percentage.

Moreover, a non-profit and member-based organisation called PV CYCLE offers solar energy-related waste management.

With the ever-advancing renewable energy technologies, we hope humans will overcome the challenges we meet and achieve the goal of NZE2050.

Reference:
https://technews.tw/2021/08/20/recycle-discarded-solar-panels/
https://www.ajudaily.com/view/20210819160954181
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20201018000088
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/10/08/south-korea-to-introduce-new-rules-for-pv-recycling/
https://www.huf.org.tw/essay/content/5230
https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/news/20190413/bkn-20190413180057658-0413_00822_001.html
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/where-solar-wind-power-are-thriving
https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2020/achieving-net-zero-emissions-by-2050

Image source:
https://lens.monash.edu/@technology/2020/06/04/1380593/turning-solar-panels-past-their-use-by-date-into-renewable-opportunities