Millions of solar panels are reaching the end of their lifespan, but with no adequate recycling infrastructure in place to deal with them, an environmental disaster is looming. This is Moneyhas more on the potential polluting consequences of solar energy.
Tonnes of solar panels could end up on the scrap heap unless the Government acts now, experts have warned.
There are around 25 million solar panels in the U.K. and 2.5 billion globally. …
But as the first generation of solar panels are expected to die off in the coming years, experts have warned that many could end up in landfill rather than recycled because of a drastic lack of infrastructure.
Currently, there is only one recycling plant in the whole of the U.K. that specialises in recycling solar panels but this is a small operation in Scunthorpe.
However, the company is currently only stockpiling the panels and when they have “enough stock” then they will “invest in the equipment to recycle them”, a spokesman told MailOnline, adding that it was “early days in the industry”.
The only place in the entire world that will recycle solar panels on an industrial scale is the first Return of Silicon Plant (ROSI) in France, which was due to open last month.
At the moment, the number of dead solar panels is only a small scale.
But the first generation of solar panels is forecast to die within the next five or ten years and according to Professor Chris Sansom at the University of Derby, by 2050 we could have 300 million tonnes of scrap panels globally.
For comparison, the world currently produces a similar amount of plastic waste each year.
Currently, almost all photovoltaic (PV) panel waste goes into landfill and only very small numbers are recycled by labour-intensive and expensive means as they must be taken apart by hand, the professor added.
Speaking to the MailOnline, he clarified: “Well, I think I think it’s probably true to say that scrap panels at the moment do end up in landfill but there hasn’t been that many of them to be honest.
“The panels that people are putting on their homes and have put on their homes in the last five or 10 years, whatever it is, will still be there because they last for at least 20 years and possibly even 30 years.
“If they fail, whatever the reason, then they probably have gone to landfill but there’s a big question there about what to do because we can’t carry on doing that. So, there is a big issue.”
The report said that given the surge of solar panel deployment since 2010 and average lifetime and failure rates for panels, waste volumes are “certain to increase more rapidly after 2030”.
Europe is predicted to be the second largest solar panel waste market with projected waste of up to three million by 2030.
Asia will remain the largest waste producer with projections of up to 3.5 million accumulated waste, according to the report.
While the report said there is a huge potential for economic revenue for the disposal of PVs because of the valuable materials and the birth of a new industry, there is little sign that much action is currently being taken.
In 2018, a senior Chinese solar official and research scientist with the German Stuttgart Institute for Photovoltaics, warned that solar panel disposal “will explode with full force in two or three decades and wreck the environment”.
He also warned that there will be a huge amount of waste as they are not easy to recycle, adding: “The reality is that there is a problem now, and it’s only going to get larger, expanding as rapidly as the PV industry expanded 10 years ago.”
You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.
Well, on speculation, there was clearly something amiss with the methodology used by Pfizer trials in particular, that caused half the trial participants to quit before finishing! Around 50% of the participants did not complete the trials. Why might this have been? If it was illness, then can it be dismissed as coincidence that as much as half of them were too ill to continue after receiving the jab? These volunteers were surely being paid to put their health at risk for an unknown drug, so they would have been financially incentivized to continue!
Furthermore, the placebo group ended up being given the mRNA shot anyway. Is it any wonder they’re compelled to withhold such ridiculous methodologies and details?
For one, 14 y/o Maddie de Garay’s life was destroyed by that trial. They said it was all in her head and refused to pay for her treatment, despite promises made on the consent form.
Her parents should be prosecuted for child abuse. What kind of parent – who doesn’t have a serious ill or dying child who just might benefit from an experimental product – would volunteer their child to be experimented on?
“In conclusion, the results suggest the existence of a batch-dependent safety signal for the BNT162b2 vaccine, and more studies are warranted to explore this preliminary observation and its consequences.” https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eci.13998
Nothing at all….It will all be clear and transparent in 75 years time!
Sforzesca
1 year ago
The mantra of bigpharme as regards ALL new drugsand genetic therapies ie the modified (not messenger RNA – that would not work as it would be destroyed by the immune system) MRNA jabs, they need to know the 3 D’s –
Dosage.
Distribution (as in where, how and why throughout the body).
Duration.
All were and still are, unknown.
I’ll add a 4th to the list of D’s-
Deadliness.
By God we badly need a whistleblower genetic engineer from high up the bigpharma food chain.
Why has this not happened yet, -fear of retribution, threats, being paid for omerta. or maybe they’re quite happy with their work…
RTSC
1 year ago
Sock Puppet Sunak assures us the jabs are safe.
There’s no need for transparency; assured quality or any information about structure and molecular weight.
The entirely trustworthy midget WEF puppet and PM-with-no-mandate (no medical qualifications whatsoever, but his Mum was a Pharmacist don’cha know) has declared they’re OK.
What more reassurance could anyone want.
kev
1 year ago
FDA not fit for purpose, and covering their arses and those of Big Pharma
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
I wonder if David McGrogan will read this?
Obviously as a conspiracy realist my only conclusion is that the FDA and CDC clearly have something to hide.
I wonder what that might be?
Well, on speculation, there was clearly something amiss with the methodology used by Pfizer trials in particular, that caused half the trial participants to quit before finishing! Around 50% of the participants did not complete the trials. Why might this have been? If it was illness, then can it be dismissed as coincidence that as much as half of them were too ill to continue after receiving the jab? These volunteers were surely being paid to put their health at risk for an unknown drug, so they would have been financially incentivized to continue!
Furthermore, the placebo group ended up being given the mRNA shot anyway. Is it any wonder they’re compelled to withhold such ridiculous methodologies and details?
For one, 14 y/o Maddie de Garay’s life was destroyed by that trial. They said it was all in her head and refused to pay for her treatment, despite promises made on the consent form.
Her parents should be prosecuted for child abuse. What kind of parent – who doesn’t have a serious ill or dying child who just might benefit from an experimental product – would volunteer their child to be experimented on?
“Bad Pfizer Vaccine Batches Account for 4.2% of doses but 71% of Serious Adverse Events
Explains Why Some Have Severe Side Effects and Others Do Not.”
https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/bad-pfizer-vaccine-batches-account
“In conclusion, the results suggest the existence of a batch-dependent safety signal for the BNT162b2 vaccine, and more studies are warranted to explore this preliminary observation and its consequences.”
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eci.13998
“The FDA and Vaccine Manufacturers Still Refuse to Show Us Their Work”
Come on lads! What could they possibly have to hide?
Nothing at all….It will all be clear and transparent in 75 years time!
The mantra of bigpharme as regards ALL new drugsand genetic therapies ie the modified (not messenger RNA – that would not work as it would be destroyed by the immune system) MRNA jabs, they need to know the 3 D’s –
Dosage.
Distribution (as in where, how and why throughout the body).
Duration.
All were and still are, unknown.
I’ll add a 4th to the list of D’s-
Deadliness.
By God we badly need a whistleblower genetic engineer from high up the bigpharma food chain.
Why has this not happened yet, -fear of retribution, threats, being paid for omerta. or maybe they’re quite happy with their work…
Sock Puppet Sunak assures us the jabs are safe.
There’s no need for transparency; assured quality or any information about structure and molecular weight.
The entirely trustworthy midget WEF puppet and PM-with-no-mandate (no medical qualifications whatsoever, but his Mum was a Pharmacist don’cha know) has declared they’re OK.
What more reassurance could anyone want.
FDA not fit for purpose, and covering their arses and those of Big Pharma