There are some imperfections in the tools of Energy Transition and in this article, we will talk about the imperfection of energy transition. All of you are already familiar with the concept of Energy Transition and this is one of the keys to reducing greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and pushing the world towards carbon neutrality.
imperfection of energy transition
Renewable energy sources like:- Solar, Wind, etc are the main solution used as a source of energy instead of thermal power plants. Since solar energy has a major contribution to energy transition and we all know that solar plants use solar PV modules. As per the information of Our World in Data, till April-2022, 1053 Gigawatt of the solar plant is already installed, the country wise breakup of installed capacity is given in the below graph:-
By considering the notional panel of 275 watts per PV solar module. In the whole world, we have 3830 Million PV modules installed. In the solar industry, It is a practice to replace old/damaged PV modules with fresh PV modules. this will lead to the piling of the PV modules and will cause the landfill as the recycling cost of these PV modules is very high. It is estimated that the life of the solar panel is about 30 Years. So we can estimate the amount of waste generated from the current installed capacity of the solar plant and those waste will be dumped on the land.
Waste Problem due to PV solar Module
There are thousands of models of silicon PV panels, but they generally share the same basic design. Their solar cells contain a sandwich of aluminum, silicon, and silver wires. Multiple cells are connected into modules by copper wires that are soldered with tin and lead. These modules are encapsulated in layers of glue-like poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA), covered with a back sheet of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and poly(vinyl fluoride) (PVF), topped with glass, and surrounded by an aluminum frame.
The modules are then connected into full-size panels. This robust, weatherproof design keeps modules functioning for decades, but it also makes them difficult to disassemble. You may read this article to get a complete idea about the procedure of recycling the PV solar module.
Wind Turbine
A similar situation is with the Wind turbine as it is very hard to recycle it. Wind turbines are designed in such a way that they can withstand with harshest and windiest conditions. 90% of wind turbines are recyclable but we cannot recycle the blades of the wind turbine. The blades of the wind turbines are made up of fiberglass bound together with epoxy resin. Most of the old/damaged blades are dumped in landfills or they are incinerated.
Wind turbine blades waiting to be buried in the Casper Regional Landfill in Casper, Wyoming.
It is estimated that by 2050, the blade waste will be reached up to 43 Million tons globally.
LED Lights
It is estimated that by 2025, 9 out of 10 bulbs will be made of LED. The led lighting system has brought an enormous change in the field of energy efficiency. it is up to 80% more efficient than the old conventional lighting system and is one of the greatest instruments of Energy Transition to reduce Energy consumption at the Consumer end.
At the same time, the effective lifespan of those electronics is substantially reduced as technological advances, aesthetic preferences, marketing, and compatibility issues lead consumers to replace them long before their useful life is over. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimates that in 2017, 50 million tonnes of electronic waste (e-waste) will be dumped globally, up from approximately 1.8 million metric tonnes in 2014. In LED, we have more than 1000 substances that are toxic in nature.
Solutions:
- The regulatory bodies of various countries are already in the process of developing/developing solar waste treatment policies.
- New manufacturing technologies should be invented for the solar PV module so that disassembling the solar PV module is easy. Researchers and companies are already working in this direction.
- It is known that 95% of LED bulb components like glass, metal, plastic, etc are recyclable. However, not every component is recyclable due to the separation cost of the material.
- Public awareness is required to recycle each LED bulb and reduce the adverse impact of LED bulbs due to incineration and dumping in landfill.
In the next article on Imperfection of Energy Transition, we will talk about the various policies made by different regulatory bodies in different countries
