The government has submitted a report on the energy development policies in 2016-2021 with updates on the treatment of waste from solar panels.

Though the volume is still small, the government believes that waste from solar panels needs consideration. 

Vietnam has recently joined the renewable energy market, so it does not have any solar or wind power projects at the stage when it needs dismantling.

The weather in Vietnam usually has high temperatures. In many places, the outdoor temperature may peak at 40-50oC, when the glass plates of solar panels may absorb heat of over 60oC, thus affecting the inner plastic layer of the panels, or cause the warping of glass and frame of the panels, thus affecting their life expectancy and performance. 

Particularly, if it rains when the temperature is high, the risk of the panels becoming warping and distorted will increase.

Moreover, the air in Vietnam contains many pollutants (soot, for example), which, when sticking to the glass surface of the panels, will be difficult to clear. 

This will affect the efficiency of the solar panels. Cyclones and storms, floods and landslides could also cause damages to the panels.

The draft of the national energy plan and draft of the environmental impact assessment report of the national energy plan both emphasize the need to set standards and regulations for the quality of solar panels.

This would ensure the quality and life expectancy of solar panels as committed by product suppliers and reduce the amount of solid waste from broken solar panels. 

It needs to issue regulations on recalling and controlling discarded solar panels, and on the responsibilities of investors in managing and treating the discarded solar panels.

Researching technologies and solutions to recall, treat and recycle broken solar panels has also been considered. 

This will help handle the increasing amounts of broken and expired solar panels.

The management and handling of discarded photovoltaic panels will be implemented with priority order as follows: re-use, maintenance, re-use of components, recycle, and burial.

The government’s report, citing information from SolarTech, says the lifespan of solar panels is 20-30 years. Some solar panels manufactured in the 1970s and 1980s are still in use.

There are many different measures used to deal with expired panels. In most cases, the material components that create panels (glass, cells, metals, plastics/polymer) will be split for reuse.

The report affirmed that no developed country considers solar panels as hazardous waste, but considers them as input materials to make new solar panels for other purposes.

Luong Bang