Solar Panel Waste Management: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Path to a Circular Economy
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methodology
3. Results
3.1. Descriptive Analysis of Selected Publications
3.2. Results of the Literature Review
What Is the Solar Panel Supply Chain?
Link | Activities | References |
---|---|---|
Upstream | Silica extraction | [23,24,26] |
Solar grade silicon production | [23,24,25,26] | |
Silicon ingots | ||
Silicon wafers | ||
Production of steel, aluminum, glass, encapsulant film, and others | [23,24,26] | |
Cell production | [26,27,28,29] | |
Module production | ||
Balance of system production | [27,28] | |
Research and development | [28] | |
Photovoltaic system installation |
Link | Activities | References |
---|---|---|
Midstream Core | Cell production | [23,24] |
Manufacture of cables, frames, sealants, junction box | ||
Module production | ||
Balance of system production | [23,25,26] | |
Project development | [25] | |
Photovoltaic system installation | [25,26] | |
Operation and maintenance | ||
System deactivation | [26] | |
Business model operation | [28] |
Link | Activities | References |
---|---|---|
Downstream | Project development | [23,27,29] |
Photovoltaic system installation | [23,24,27] | |
Operation and maintenance | [6] | |
System deactivation | [25,28,29] | |
Research and development | [27] |
Link | Activities | References |
---|---|---|
Auxiliary | Project development | [28] |
Marketing and sales | [19,20,28] | |
Customer service | ||
Financing and insurance | ||
Government support | [19,20] | |
Assistance from associations and interest organizations | ||
Legal assistance | ||
Research and development | ||
Human resources | ||
Transportation and logistics | ||
Commissioning services |
3.3. What Waste Is Produced in the Solar Panel Supply Chain and How Is It Managed?
3.3.1. Types of Waste in the Solar Panel Supply Chain
3.3.2. Types of Waste Management in the Solar Panel Supply Chain
3.3.3. Trends in Research and Waste Management in the Solar Panel Supply Chain
3.3.4. What Opportunities Are There in the Waste Management of the Solar Panel Supply Chain?
Recycle
Recover
Reuse
Reduce
Repair
Refine
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
6. Future Potential Research Directions
- Enhancing High-Value Recycling Technologies: Examining efficient and economical techniques for the extraction and reprocessing of valuable materials from retired solar panels.
- Policy and Regulatory Frameworks: Assessing the efficacy of current policies across various locations and recommending standardized international regulations for the management of solar panel trash.
- Innovative Commercial Models: Investigating circular economy-oriented commercial ideas, including solar panel leasing, buyback initiatives, and second-life applications for utilized photovoltaic modules.
- Technological Advancements in Eco-Design: Promoting the creation of modular and recyclable panel designs that enable simpler disassembly and material retrieval.
- Lifecycle Assessments: Performing thorough environmental impact evaluations to compare various waste management scenarios and determine the most sustainable alternatives.
- Socioeconomic Implications: Evaluating the employment generation potential and economic advantages of a robust solar waste treatment sector, especially in developing economies.
- Economic Impacts: determining the costs of recycling, how they impact energy production, and the costs of the supply chain.
- By focusing on these aspects, researchers and industry leaders may advance the establishment of a genuinely sustainable solar energy sector, guaranteeing that the advantages of photovoltaics are not undermined by their enduring waste issues. The shift to a circular economy model in solar energy will diminish environmental impacts and generate new economic opportunities, enhancing the industry’s resilience and sustainability in the future.
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Question | Keywords |
---|---|
1 | Supply chain, value chain, manufacturing chain |
2, 3 | Waste, management, control, organization, reuse, recycle, reject, repair, reduce, renew, recovery, sustainable, circular |
1, 2, 3 | Panel, cell, photovoltaic, solar |
Classification | No. | Criteria |
---|---|---|
Inclusion | C1 | Title, abstract, and/or keywords contain the keywords from Table 2. |
C2 | Publications in English. | |
C3 | The abstract and superficial review of the article allow for answering one of the three research questions either directly or indirectly. | |
Exclusion | C4 | Title, abstract, and/or keywords contain terms related to other energy sources such as hydrogen or wind. |
C5 | Duplicate publications. | |
C6 | Restricted access publications. |
Document Type | Amount | Proportion |
---|---|---|
Article | 30 | 66.7% |
Conference paper | 2 | 4.4% |
Review | 8 | 17.8% |
Report | 3 | 6.7% |
Note | 1 | 2.2% |
Survey | 1 | 2.2% |
Name of the Journal/Institution | Amount | Name of the Journal/Institution | Amount |
---|---|---|---|
Resources, Conservation and Recycling | 5 | Innovation and Development | 1 |
Journal of Cleaner Production | 3 | International Energy Agency—IEA | 1 |
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews | 3 | International Renewable Energy Agency—IRENA | 1 |
Solar Energy | 3 | International Review of Applied Sciences and Engineering | 1 |
Sustainability | 3 | IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science | 1 |
Energy Research and Social Science | 2 | Joule | 1 |
Materials Today: Proceedings | 2 | Journal of Business Research | 1 |
Waste Management and Research | 2 | Microsystem Technologies | 1 |
Applied Energy | 1 | Office of Scientific and Technical Information—OSTI | 1 |
Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy | 1 | Renewable Energy | 1 |
Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry | 1 | Resources Policy | 1 |
Energies | 1 | Social Sciences & Humanities Open | 1 |
Energy for Sustainable Development | 1 | Sustainable Horizons | 1 |
Energy Technology | 1 | Sustainable Production and Consumption | 1 |
Environmental Research Letters | 1 | Waste Management | 1 |
Journal | Citations | Publication | Authors | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews | 124 | “Technical challenges and opportunities in realising a circular economy for waste photovoltaic modules” | 11 | 2020 |
Resources | 116 | “End-of-life photovoltaic modules: A systematic quantitative literature review” | 5 | 2019 |
Waste Management | 78 | “Recycling and reuse of kerf-loss silicon from diamond wire sawing for photovoltaic industry” | 5 | 2019 |
Resources, Conservation and Recycling | 50 | “Promoting a circular economy in the solar photovoltaic industry using life cycle symbiosis” | 3 | 2020 |
Resources, Conservation and Recycling | 49 | “Critical assessment of renewable energy waste generation in OECD countries: Decommissioned PV panels” | 3 | 2021 |
Type of Waste | Description | References |
---|---|---|
Solid | Glass, metals, packaging, etc. | [26,38,41,42,46,48,53,54,55,56] |
WEEE | Inverters, cables, batteries, etc. | [33,45,46,48,49] |
Environmental | Manufacturing, transportation, or decommissioning waste that generates leaching, GHG emissions, etc. | [16,17,26,38,45,52,54,57] |
Hazardous | Metals that threaten human health. | [45,46,50,52,53,54,56] |
Management Type | Description | References |
---|---|---|
Dumping | Widely practiced worldwide. | [27,49,56,58,59,66] |
Recycling | Only 10% of panels are recycled worldwide. | [12,17,19,26,37,42,46,49,53] |
Reuse | Export of panels and second-hand market. | [12,17,19,37,45,53,54,56,58,63] |
Incineration | Common practice without emission control. | [33,49,59] |
Research Trend | Description | References | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
Upstream | Research focused on waste in the manufacturing stage. | [19,42,43,59] | 11.10% |
Downstream | Research focused on waste at the end of the life cycle of panels. | [17,26,33,46,53,54,56,58,59,60,63,64] | 48.90% |
R | Upstream | Dowstream | Auxiliary |
---|---|---|---|
R1: Recycle [17,26,37,38,53,58,60,62,64,69,70] | Recycling of silicon wafer cutting. | High-value recycling centers for valuable materials. | NA |
Recycling technology services. | |||
Disassembly, logistics, transportation, and recycling services. | |||
WEEE recycling plant. | |||
R2: Recover [26,45,48,50,59,64,71] | NA | Use of waste materials as raw material for other industries. | NA |
Recovery of high-value materials. | |||
Recovery of BOS components for reintegration. | |||
R3: Reuse [17,19,26,49,70,72] | Reuse of silicon cuttings in other industries. | Second-life panel market, resale, and installation. | NA |
Reuse of packaging products in soil treatment. | |||
R4: Reduce [26,73]) | NA | Maintenance services to extend the lifespan. | More efficient solar panel designs. |
R5: Repair [17,49,70] | NA | Repair and control services. | Insurance companies for panel repair. |
R6: Refine [26] | NA | NA | Services for handling logistical deficiencies. |
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Share and Cite
Piedrahita, A.; Cárdenas, L.M.; Zapata, S. Solar Panel Waste Management: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Path to a Circular Economy. Energies 2025, 18, 1844. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18071844
Piedrahita A, Cárdenas LM, Zapata S. Solar Panel Waste Management: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Path to a Circular Economy. Energies. 2025; 18(7):1844. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18071844
Chicago/Turabian StylePiedrahita, Allison, Laura M. Cárdenas, and Sebastian Zapata. 2025. "Solar Panel Waste Management: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Path to a Circular Economy" Energies 18, no. 7: 1844. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18071844
APA StylePiedrahita, A., Cárdenas, L. M., & Zapata, S. (2025). Solar Panel Waste Management: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Path to a Circular Economy. Energies, 18(7), 1844. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18071844