Solar Panels Waste In India: The Urgent Need For An Environmental Law Framework
- IJLLR Journal
- Jun 9
- 1 min read
Khushi Garg, OP Jindal Global University
1. Introduction
India's ambitious renewable energy goals aiming for an installed capacity of 500 GW by 2030, including 280 GW from solar resource pose a huge opportunity but also a huge environmental issue. While solar energy enables the generation of clean electricity, end-of-life (EoL) processing of photovoltaic (PV) panels is fast becoming an environmental issue to waste management. Existing estimates place India at around 34,600 tonnes of solar PV waste by 2030, projected to increase to 1.8 million tonnes by 2050 (MNRE, 2021).
India's existing response to management of solar photovoltaic (PV) waste has a number of outstanding deficiencies, making a compelling argument for policy reform. This research identifies four key concerns: first, the absence of distinct e-waste legislation for PV waste in India's existing e-waste management legislation leaves this new waste category largely unregulated;5 second, the failure of extended producer responsibility (EPR) regimes third, the absence of appropriate recycling capacity strongly limits acceptable disposal channels; and fourth, the risk of environmental pollution through hazardous contents such as lead, cadmium, and silicon tetrachloride poses significant ecological and public health risks.
