50 millions de tonnes de dรฉchets รฉlectroniques sont produits chaque annรฉe...
Solar panels, an eco-disaster wainting to happen ?
๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ก๐ค๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ข๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ข๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ช๐ก๐๐ง๐๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐? ⤵️
Decarbonation is not one shot. So letโs play the long-term game right.
Most hashtag#climatetechs, especially for electrification (e.g., hashtag#battery) and hashtag#renewables, are made of precious metals meaning that we need to consider today how to deal with their end-of-life to be resilient tomorrow.
This article from the BBC News perfectly depicts the issue around hashtag#solarpanels that will soon represent one of our main sources of hashtag#energy
⚡ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ป๐๐๐๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐น
– Average lifespan: 25-30 years
– Composition: Glass fronts, aluminium frames, precious materials (e.g., silver, copper)
– Value: Over 60% of the value is contained in 3% of the weight of the solar panels with some materials exposed to hashtag#sourcingrisks
🔎 ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐น๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ
– Dismantling and hashtag#recycling processes for solar panels are complex
– Infrastructure to hashtag#scrap and recycle solar panels is lacking (the world’s first factory will officially open in France end of June)
– Solar recycling specialists like ROSI hope eventually to be able to extract and re-use 99% of a unit’s components – once solutions will be fully operational
💥 ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ ๐ฎ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ
– First generation of solar panels achieve their end-of-life
– In 2021, the world’s solar energy generation capacity grew by 22%
– In 2030, 4 million tonnes of scrap are expected from solar panels
– In 2050, 200 million tonnes of scrap are expected from solar panels (i.e. x50 vs. 2030)
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