OPINION | How to avoid mountains of toxic scrap as India accelerates its solar power buildout

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With an average life span of 25 years, every solar panel will fail one day. In a world of increasingly fragile supply chains, the critical minerals in each panel is not a resource India can afford to ignore.

The Central Electricity Authority recently called for a dedicated policy on the lifecycle management of solar panels — from manufacturing to end-of-life recycling — to prevent an impending waste crisis. The recently announced INR 1,500 crore incentive scheme to promote critical mineral recycling under India’s National Critical Mineral Mission also signals recognition of this opportunity.

The scheme aims to establish at least 270 kilotonnes of annual recycling capacity across diverse streams, including electronic waste. Among the 106 product categories listed in India’s Electronic Waste (Management) Regulations, solar cells and modules are particularly well placed to contribute. If channelled effectively, they could help India meet both the scheme’s targets and its mineral needs.

The scale of the opportunity is significant. A study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) estimates that the capacity installed as of the financial year 2023 alone will generate around 340,000 tonnes of solar waste over its lifetime. If recycled, this waste could yield above 12,000 tonnes of critical minerals—of which 83 per cent (10,400 tonnes) would be silicon, followed by copper (16 per cent, or 2,000 tonnes), and smaller but valuable amounts of cadmium and tellurium (16 tonnes each). The recovered silicon alone could support the manufacturing of about 3 GW of solar modules or 3 kW panels across 1 million homes.

Yet, there remains a risk of missing this opportunity. While today’s rules operate under an extended producer responsibility (EPR) framework, they do not prescribe any recycling targets for solar cells and modules. Instead, producers are merely required to store solar waste until 2034-35. Earlier this year, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) issued draft guidelines outlining conditions for storage facilities, such as minimum facility area, stack height, and labelling requirements. But a storage mandate, without recycling targets, risks stalling the Indian solar module recycling industry before it can even take off properly.

The burden of such a mandate is also unsustainable, putting immense financial and logistical pressure on producers.

Equally concerning is the effect on private investment. Aluminium and glass recovery from solar panels is relatively straightforward and already familiar to recyclers. But advanced processes to recover high-value metals like silicon, copper, and silver require scale, research, and patient capital.

Without clear regulatory signals, including recycling targets or tradable recovery obligations, private companies have little incentive to make such massive investments. In that vacuum, waste will drift into informal channels, where crude methods risk environmental damage and lose most of the mineral value.

These could begin as early as 2027-28, based on projected waste volumes and available recycling technologies. Introduction of EPR targets would ensure channelisation of solar waste to registered recyclers, who will be the only entities eligible to generate and trade EPR certificates. With ~67 per cent of waste by 2030 expected from just five states (Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh) recyclers could strategically plan facilities and reverse logistics, making the system both efficient and cost-effective.

Second, the MoEF&CC and CPCB should expand the scope of EPR certificates for solar cells and modules beyond aluminium to include critical minerals.

This would align regulatory incentives with the National Critical Mineral Mission’s goals, encouraging recyclers to invest in advanced facilities. Crucially, these recyclers would also be eligible for the scheme’s 20 per cent capital subsidy on machinery and utilities, lowering costs and accelerating deployment. Furthermore, the MoEF&CC and CPCB should also strengthen the EPR portal for e-waste to publish the data on solar waste generated, collected and recycled.

Third, solar waste management must bring bulk consumers into the fold. Project developers, independent power producers, and asset management – collectively owning 79 per cent of India's installed solar capacity – are the inevitable epicentre of waste generation. They should be required to register on the EPR portal and declare their waste inventories annually.

At present, much of this waste is sold to informal handlers for salvage value or offloaded through insurers who rely on the same unregulated channels. This undermines traceability and leaves much of the mineral potential untapped. Mandating bulk consumers to engage only with authorised recyclers would ensure waste is channelled into safe, efficient, and transparent processes.

India’s solar story has so far been one of rapid growth and global leadership. The country is aiming for 500 GW non-fossil installed capacity by 2030. But without a parallel focus on the waste this will generate, the transition risks leaving behind mountains of toxic scrap. A clean energy transition cannot be truly clean unless it is circular. Every panel needs to power India’s future across its lifecycle.