According to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) report, the global photovoltaic waste will touch 78 million tonnes by 2050. India is expected to be one of the top five generators of such waste.
- Solar waste is the electronic waste generated by discarded solar panels and is sold as scrap in the country.
- India currently considers solar waste a part of electronic waste and does not account for it separately.
- A committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of the Ministry’s Secretary to propose an action plan to evolve a “circular economy” in solar panel, through reuse/recycling of waste generated.
- A pilot facility for solar panel recycling and material recovery had been set up by a private company in Gummidipoondi in Tamil Nadu.
India’s solar capacity
- The cumulative capacity of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) installations is around 40 GW and of the current capacity, about 35.6 GW, is generated from ground-mounted plants and 4.4 GW from rooftop solar.
- Solar panels have an estimated life of 25 years, so the problem of waste seems distant. It is likely that India will be faced with solar waste problems by the end of this decade.
GS TIMES UPSC PRELIMS & MAINS CURRENT AFFAIRS BASED BASICS DAILY ONLINE TEST CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ FOR STATE CIVIL SERVICES
