India To Generate 600 kT Solar Waste From Installed, New Capacity By 2030, Finds Study

India To Generate 600 kT Solar Waste From Installed, New Capacity By 2030, Finds Study. Photo: Pexels

India’s installed 66.7 GW solar capacity, as of FY23, has generated about 100 kilotonnes (kt) of waste, which will increase to 340 kt by 2030, according to a study conducted by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) ‘Enabling a Circular Economy in India’s Solar Industry: Assessing the Solar Waste Quantum’. The study also found that the cumulative waste from existing and new solar capacity (deployed between FY24 and FY30) will reach about 600 kt by 2030. Around 44 per cent of this will be generated from new capacities.

The key finding in the report was that around 67 percent of this waste is expected to be generated in five states: Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.

The report further stated, “India needs around 292 GW of solar capacity by 2030 (CEA 2023). With the rapid deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies, concerns are building around solar waste management. Responsible solar PV waste management is critical for environmental, economic, and social reasons.”

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), India’s 200 GW–capacity, coupled with additional off-grid solar PV deployment, will generate 50 kilotonnes (kt) and 325 kt of solar waste in regular- and early-loss scenarios, respectively, in 2030. Another study estimates the solar waste for low, medium, and high installation capacity scenarios until 2030 to be 11 kt, 21 kt, and 35 kt, respectively, the CEEW report stated.

The estimates on waste generated also talk about statewise data with Rajasthan alone accounting for 24 percent of this waste, followed by Gujarat (16 percent), and Karnataka (12 percent). Between FY14 and FY30, Rajasthan and Gujarat will have generated about 4.1 and 2.7 kt of waste per annum. Moreover, the study assumes that India will deploy about 225 GW of new solar capacity between FY24 and FY30 to reach
292 GW capacity. This capacity will generate 594 kt (about 600 kt) of waste by 2030.

The new installations deployed between FY24 and FY30 will represent the remaining 44 percent (260 kt) of cumulative waste in 2030. By 2040, the cumulative waste could increase more than eight times, to reach 4981 kt (Figure 5). Around 74 percent (3689 kt) of this will come from the existing capacity (until FY23), while the remaining 26 percent (1292 kt) will come from the new installations (post-FY23).

Several Indian states are already witnessing significant quantities of waste (in the range of 99 kt); however, the majority of the waste will likely be generated from the capacities deployed between 2024 and 2030, the report stated.

CEEW report concluded, “As per the E-waste Management Rules, producers must build collection centres and storage facilities for the
waste generated until 2035. As the solar modules are huge, the storage requirements could be large. With MNRE supporting solar PV recycling, manufacturers should also build recycling facilities of their own or outsource recycling operations to third-party vendors with expertise in solar PV recycling according to their chosen business models.”