Economic Balance of Disposal of Photovoltaic Modules Installed in the Czech Republic

Transcription

1 POSTER 2016, PRAGUE MAY 24 1 Economic Balance of Disposal of Photovoltaic Modules Installed in the Czech Republic Ladislava ČERNÁ 1, Tomáš FINSTERLE 1 1 Dept. of Electrotechnology, Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Electrical Enginnering, Technická 2, Praha, Czech Republic ladislava.cerna@fel.cvut.cz, finsttom@fel.cvut.cz Abstract. There is about 2 GW currently installed capacity of photovoltaic sources in the Czech Republic. It represents approximately 10 million of PV modules which will be transformed into the waste in the future. Because of the fear of future situation, the government introduced a fee for their recycling that must be paid for every PV module. The fee level and rationality of its introduction is discussed in this paper. Keywords PV module, Recyclation, Materials Content 1. Introduction The total installed capacity of photovoltaic (PV) sources in the Czech Republic is currently about 2GW representing approximately individual installations. More than half of these plants (in terms of installed capacity) was built on the basis of the state incentive, ie. "for investment" during the year 2010 and is operated in the regime of so called direct purchase when all electricity generated is delivered directly to the grid, for a price based on recently valid support tariff (Feed-in tariff). These systems (they are in the hundreds) are usually free standing systems, or systems on the roofs of industrial halls. Licenses are usually issued for 20 or 25 years and the structures of a vast majority of PV power plants authorized as "temporary". Due to the limited validity of support tariffs for the duration of the license, there is a hypothetical risk of subsequent environmental damage after shutdown due to the termination of the license and the source of financial support. These temporary structures have in the project documentation included also the reclamation of built area, however due to the low law enforcement the risk of an excessive amount of waste creation can be still actual. For these reasons, the ministry introduced a fee for future PV modules recycling. The fee and its level eligibility are further discussed in the following text. 2. Current situation of PV modules disposal in the Czech Republic PV modules placed on the market before 1 st January funding for separate collection, treatment, recovery and disposal of electrical waste from the PV modules takes place through the so-called collective take-back systems of electrical equipment (hereinafter the "collective system"). The amount and exact method of financing is determined by the implementing decree no. 352/2005 Coll [1]. PV modules placed on the market after 1 st January 2013 funding for separate collection, treatment, recovery and disposal of electrical waste is ensured by the PV modules manufacturer (the guarantee is before being marketed provided by the manufacturer). In the case of the new modules, manufacturer can also enter into a contract with the end user which will delegate this responsibility to the other person. In the case of the end user responsibility, the funding is than ensured similarly like in the case of the modules placed on the market before 1 st January Minimal fee level is not determined. The fee level depends on the weight of the module, which in the case of modules placed on the market after 1 st January 2013 is equal to the actual weight of the modules and for modules placed on the market before 1 st January 2013 is recalculated according to the following equation: where M = P K (1) M represents the weight of PV modules in kg installed at the PV power plant for the calculation of minimal amount of contribution purposes, P the performance of solar plant according to the licence for energy production issued by the Energy Regulatory Office indicated in watts (Wp respectively) and K the average weight of the PV module accruing to unit of output; according to the law, the average weight is 0.11 kg [1] The rate for calculating the minimum fee level and the minimum amount of deposited funds in a blocked bank

2 2 L. ČERNÁ, T. FINSTERLE, ECONOMIC BALANCE OF DISPOSAL OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES account is then calculated according to the formula (all quantities are relative to 1 kg of PV module waste): S = N OS + N př + N zpr + N adm P ds (2) where S represents the fee level, N OS assumed cost for waste take-back and onward transfer, N př assumed cost for transport, N zpr assumed costs for treatment, N adm assumed costs for administration and P ds assumed profits from treatment. 3. Photovoltaic module in terms of material composition The photovoltaic module is a device that operates on the principle of direct conversion of solar radiation into electrical energy. The base of every PV module is formed by mostly serially connected PV cells which mediates the conversion into electricity. Other components are the encapsulating materials assuring the resistance against the environmental influences (mostly EVA, glass, tedlar), contacts (contacting ribbons, junction box, cables) and design elements (frame). To determine the amount of the fee for 1 kg PV module, it is necessary to divide the modules into various categories, depending on the material composition. Distribution of the individual technology of modules installed in the Czech Republic is shown at figure 1. Distribution was obtained by the analysis of data (provided by the company RE Solar) from more than a quarter of the capacity installed in the Czech Republic. Fig. 1. Percentage of individual technologies PV modules installed in the Czech Republic Based on provided data and information in datasheets (weight, length of cables, the thickness of the used glass, nominal power) the generic module for every category was established. Then, based on the information in scientific papers (see [2], [3], [4]) and knowledge of technological processes relevant in the year of PV module production (typical thickness of the layers used in the manufacture of individual technology and the physical parameters of the substances), the material composition of the individual types of modules was determined. The results are summarized in the tab. 1. Crystalline silicon monocrystalline with frames multicrystalline with frames Module weight 15.7 kg 18.6 kg Nominal power 188 Wp 217 Wp Module dimensions 818 x 1584 x 36 (mm) 954 x 1600 x 43 (mm) Material content: glass 11.6 kg 13.7 kg aluminium 1.19 kg 1.73 kg active layer 0.36 kg Si 0.51 kg Si insulating materials EVA 1.2 kg; tedlar 13 g EVA 1.4 kg; tedlar 15 g rare metals Ag - 20 g Ag - 20 g copper 0.7 kg 0.75 kg other substances 6.7 g Sn 7.7 g Sn toxic substances Pb 3.8 g Pb 4.3 g Other materials (plugs. silicone sealing. junction box. diodes. connectors...) approx. 0.5 kg approx. 0.5 kg

3 L. ČERNÁ, T. FINSTERLE, ECONOMIC BALANCE OF DISPOSAL OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES 3 Thin film CdTe CI(G)S * TF Si frameless frameless frameless with frame Module weight 12 kg 15 kg 24 kg 18.5 kg Nominal power 75 Wp 76 Wp 105 Wp 100 Wp Module dimensions 600 x 1200 x 7 (mm) 640 x 1190 x 7.9 (mm) 1100 x 1300 x 7 (mm) 1055 x 1268 x 42 (mm) Material content: glass 10.9 kg 13.9 kg 22.6 kg 15.6 kg aluminium < 1 % 0.3 g 0.8 g 1.35 kg active layer 8.4 g CdTe 9.6 g CI(G)S 5 g Si 4.5 g Si insulating materials EVA 0.3 kg EVA 0.3 kg EVA 0.6 kg EVA 0.6 kg; tedlar - 13 g rare metals Te 4.5 g Mo g; Sb g; In 2.7 g; Ga 1.7 g; Se 3.7 g copper 0.27 kg 0.33 kg 0.33 kg 0.47 kg other substances toxic substances SnO g CdTe g; CdS g (4.1 g Cd) ZnO g (3.5 g Zn) CdS g (0.035 g Cd) ** SnO g SnO g Other materials (plugs. silicone sealing. junction box. diodes. connectors...) approx. 0.5 kg approx. 0.5 kg approx. 0.5 kg approx. 0.5 kg * ** Tab. 1. In CIGS modules, also the manufacturer Solyndra is involved. These modules are assembled from tubes which in addition to the materials above contain also the silicone oil. Solyndra also uses the CdS layer. In addition to modules containing the thin CdS layer, there exist also CIGS modules which are Cd free. Their spread in relevant years is although not significant. Material content in individual PV modules technologies. 4. The yield of the recycling materials PVM Recycling process of crystalline and thin-film solar modules allows receive a lot of material, for subsequent processing and reuse in the production of PV modules or other products. These materials are aluminium, copper, glass, plastic, silicon and rare metals including indium, gallium, germanium, silver, molybdenum and some toxic metals such as cadmium, selenium, tellurium or lead. Best recyclable materials include glass and aluminium. Recycling technology of these materials is simple and technologically mastered. The obtained glass sheets when using thermo-chemical methods are not used for production of new modules currently. Manufacture new tempered glass is more economical advantageous. It is possible to obtain up to 95 % of the glass material with a purity of % [4], [5]. From recycling of aluminium, it is possible to receive almost 100 % primary material and this low energy process saves up to 70 % of the energy required to produce new aluminium. Silicon is another economically preferred material. Thermo-chemical methods allow gaining whole cells, which then can be modified and used to produce new cells (older method). The yield of relatively pure material for this method achieves 85-90%. In mechanical-chemical method, the recovery of silicon is from 75 to 85% [4], [5]. Conductive material, such as copper and silver are another group of materials which are obtained by recycling PV modules. Recycling of copper cable has a yield from 78 % to 100 %, and processing technology is highly developed. The current yield of the silver ranges from 40 % to 65 %. Among the best recyclable rare metals belongs tellurium. The yield of the tellurium is in the range from 80 % - 95 % with purity around 99.7 %. Recycling rates of other rare metals such as indium, gallium and germanium currently achieve the values 20 % - 40 %. Improving recycling technologies can be expected [6]. The result of mechanical-chemical methods is crushed material. The crushed material contains all material

4 4 L. ČERNÁ, T. FINSTERLE, ECONOMIC BALANCE OF DISPOSAL OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES components of a photovoltaic module. The most important materials are silicon, carbon, rare metals and toxic metals. For further processing the fraction with the smallest radius, which is obtained by repeatedly crushing, is the best one. Volume of the individual materials in modules installed in the Czech Republic shows Tab Economic evaluation of the recycling of PV modules There are many factors which influence the economic performance of module recycling (see Eq. 2). Current recycling fee covers sufficiently only transportation, administration, and other processing and does not consider the necessity of dismantling or material flows (although within the Eq. 2, these factors are included). The most critical part is to establish the potential revenues from sale of secondary raw materials. Income from the sale of commodities depends on the actual situation on the commodity exchange, so the estimated prices based on the five-year course were used for calculation. Approximate the expected price of the stock exchange in 2030 was intended with using the exponential trend-lines. The estimates have not taken into account the significant peaks, thus in all cases more conservative approach was applied. Purchase prices from processors revenues, were with respect to the cleanliness of re-processed materials and data from the processors estimated about 40 % lower than the expected price of the commodity on the exchange. The estimation of future revenues P ds, considering the amount of PV modules and recycling rates was then determined. With respect to currently assumed costs for take-back, transportation, administrative and treatment, economic balance can be evaluated. The results for individual technologies are shown in Tab. 2. Commodity Revenues from commodity sale (Kč) mono c-si multi c-si CdTe CIGS a-si frameless a-si frame Glass Aluminium (Al) Cuprum (Cu) Silicon (Si) Silver (Ag) Tellurium (Te) Cadmium (Cd) Molybdenum (Mo) Zinc (Zn) Selene (Se) Indium (In) Gallium (Ga) Lead (Pb) Tin (Sn) Total revenues (Kč) Total waste (kg) P ds /kg (Kč) S/kg (Kč) S/kg without technology diversification (Kč) -1 Tab. 2. Economic balance of PV modules recycling

5 POSTER 2016, PRAGUE MAY Conclusion The establishment of recycling fee for PV modules was built on presumption that all modules will be liquidated after ending the license validity. This is highly questionable, because the real lifetime of PV modules is much longer than the license validity (after 25 years only 25 % performance decrease is predicted) and especially in the case of residential installations, it can be expected that the owners will request its prolongations. The material analysis of modules installed in Czech Republic together with future revenues from treatment further proved that the economic balance of PV modules treatment is positive. The actual recycling fee level is than unnecessarily high. The negative economic balance can be expected in the case of newer PV modules, where is lower content of silver and silicon. Acknowledgement Research described in the paper was supervised by Prof. V. Benda, FEE CTU in Prague and supported by the Students Grant Competition under grant No. SGS16/077/OHK3/1T/13. References [1] Decree no. 352/2005 Coll. details of waste electrical equipment and electrical and on conditions for the financing of waste management (Act on details of waste). In: Journal of Laws. September 5, 2005 [2] MULLER, A., WAMBACH K., ALSEMA E. Life Cycle Analysis of solar modulerecycling process. In: MRS Proceedings. Cambridge University Press, p G Available from: publication/ _life_cycle_analysis_of_a_solar_module_recy cling_process/links/0912f50890ded08ed pdf Ladislava ČERNÁ About Authors... was born in Ceske Budejovice in She studied electrotechnical high school in Kolín. After that she continued at Faculty of Electrical Engineering of Czech Technical University in Prague with focusing on Electrotechnology. The theme of her thesis was PV cells dark current measurement which was defended in 2010 at Department of Electrotechnology. Now she studies doctoral degree at this department. In addition to studies she deals with the diagnostics of PV systems and works as head of the Laboratory of PV Systems Diagnostics ( Her supervisor is prof. Ing. Vítězslav Benda, CSc. Tomáš FINSTERLE was born in Olomouc in He studied electrotechnical high school in Mohelnice. After that he continued at Faculty of Electrical Engineering of Czech Technical University in Prague with focusing on Intelligent Building. The theme of his thesis was Changes in the parameters of thin-film photovoltaic modules which was defended in 2013 at Department of Electrotechnology. Now he studies doctoral degree at this department. In addition to studies he deals with the diagnostics of PV systems and works as laborant of the Laboratory of PV Systems Diagnostics ( His supervisor is prof. Ing. Vítězslav Benda, CSc. [3] GOE M., GAUSTAD G., MOSCARDINI E., HAVLIK T., TORO L., WEIR G. Strengthening the case for recycling photovoltaics: An energy payback analysis: An energy payback analysis. Applied Energy [online]. 2014, vol. 120, issue 10, s Available from: [4] GRANATA G., PAGNANELLI F., MOSCARDINI E., HAVLIK T., TORO L., WEIR G. Recycling of photovoltaic panels by physical operations. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells [online]. 2014, vol. 123, issue 10, s Available from: /pii/s [5] BECHNÍK B. Recyklace fotovoltaických panelů na konci životnosti. TZB-info [online] Available from: [6] PAIANO A., GAUSTAD G., MOSCARDINI E., HAVLIK T., TORO L., WEIR G. Photovoltaic waste assessment in Italy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews [online]. 2015, vol. 41, issue 10, s Available from: