Photovoltaic waste assessment in Italy

At present, photovoltaics is, after hydro and wind power, the third most important renewable energy source in terms of its capacity to be globally installed; furthermore, for two years in a row, it was the number one new source of electricity generation installed in the European Union. Italy became the second country in the European Union concerning the cumulative installed power of PV (in 2013, the Italian PV cumulative power reached over 17,620 MW), which was also the result of the very attractive support policy. In connection with this development, the issue has emerged about the treatment and disposal of photovoltaic waste when the operative time (approximately twenty-thirty years) of the photovoltaic systems ended. The European Union, to address this environmental impact, passed the Directive 2012/19/EU to increase the amount of waste of electrical and electronic equipment in the form of photovoltaic panels that have been appropriately collected and treated to reduce the volume that become disposed. This paper aims to provide an assessment of the potential waste arising in Italy from the use and end-of-life phases of these renewable energy systems in the coming years and their disposal and/or recycling. Based on the lifetime of 25 years of photovoltaic panels, the estimate has been referred to two periods of waste generation (2012–2038 and 2039–2050). The importance of managing this flow of waste to enhance the correct disposal of the hazardous substances as well as the importance of the recovery and recycling of valuable resources has also been underlined.