4 ms·

The 20 or maybe 25 years duration is not bad at all in itself, but before or later it has to be done, and usually noone talks about that when illustrating the

by jaclaz 10y ago

The 20 or maybe 25 years duration is not bad at all in itself, but before or later it has to be done, and usually noone talks about that when illustrating the "advantages" and "cleanness" of the solution. I was not saying that disposing properly of such materials is not "straightforward", only that its costs (as well as those for the disposal of batteries, thanks _red for mentioning them) are rarely included in most cost estimations. In EU countries it is now (since around 2012-2014 depending on the country) at least in theory OK - since you pay the cost of disposal to the manufacturer at install time, and when the plant will be depleted you can have the panels disposed for free (your money goes indirectly to a consortium for disposal of electronics goods).

woodruffw 10y ago
Certainly. I chalk that up a certain amount of optimism surrounding solar energy (and renewables in general), not willful ignorance of the real costs of deploying any sort of infrastructure on a national scale. Based on what you said, the EU seems to have figured out a responsible way to handle those costs, at least on the individual level.
- jaclaz 10y ago
  Yes, though it has to be seen how well it will work out in the long term, when huge amounts of panels and batteries will be in need of being disposed of. In any case the Law represents a good provision for the consumer/end user, JFYI: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/weee/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/weee/index_en.htm http://www.solarwaste.eu/ http://www.solarwaste.eu/ Specifically in Italy: http://www.solarwaste.eu/in-your-country/italy/ http://www.solarwaste.eu/in-your-country/italy/ The resources are "distributed": >Waste originating from PV modules classified as household (B2C) waste (those installed in PV plants with a nominal power below 10 Kw) is financed by the Producers present in the market in the year when the costs occur according to their market share. But only for "household" plants: >Waste originating from PV modules classified as non-household (B2B) waste (those installed in PV plants with a nominal power equal or above 10 Kw) placed on the market before 12/04/2014 is financed by the Producers when selling a new PV module replacing the old, in all other cases the financing is upon users. For waste originating from B2B PV modules placed on the market after 12/04/2014, the financial responsibility is upon Producers for the modules they placed on the market. So there is IMHO a risk about companies that sell today but will be not anymore in business in 20/25 years time to pay for the disposal ... ... cannot say if there are some forms of insurance (or whatever) covering this possibility. Right now (just for the record) the fee for WEEE (for business) is between 0.30 €/kg and 0.50 €/kg + shipment, which seems very little when you are dealing with "light" items like - say - LCD TV's or laptops, but not so little when you are dealing with CRT's or similar.
  - woodruffw 10y ago
    Thanks for the resources.

by jaclaz 10y ago

woodruffw 10y ago

Certainly. I chalk that up a certain amount of optimism surrounding solar energy (and renewables in general), not willful ignorance of the real costs of deploying any sort of infrastructure on a national scale. Based on what you said, the EU seems to have figured out a responsible way to handle those costs, at least on the individual level.

jaclaz 10y ago
Yes, though it has to be seen how well it will work out in the long term, when huge amounts of panels and batteries will be in need of being disposed of. In any case the Law represents a good provision for the consumer/end user, JFYI: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/weee/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/weee/index_en.htm http://www.solarwaste.eu/ http://www.solarwaste.eu/ Specifically in Italy: http://www.solarwaste.eu/in-your-country/italy/ http://www.solarwaste.eu/in-your-country/italy/ The resources are "distributed": >Waste originating from PV modules classified as household (B2C) waste (those installed in PV plants with a nominal power below 10 Kw) is financed by the Producers present in the market in the year when the costs occur according to their market share. But only for "household" plants: >Waste originating from PV modules classified as non-household (B2B) waste (those installed in PV plants with a nominal power equal or above 10 Kw) placed on the market before 12/04/2014 is financed by the Producers when selling a new PV module replacing the old, in all other cases the financing is upon users. For waste originating from B2B PV modules placed on the market after 12/04/2014, the financial responsibility is upon Producers for the modules they placed on the market. So there is IMHO a risk about companies that sell today but will be not anymore in business in 20/25 years time to pay for the disposal ... ... cannot say if there are some forms of insurance (or whatever) covering this possibility. Right now (just for the record) the fee for WEEE (for business) is between 0.30 €/kg and 0.50 €/kg + shipment, which seems very little when you are dealing with "light" items like - say - LCD TV's or laptops, but not so little when you are dealing with CRT's or similar.
- woodruffw 10y ago
  Thanks for the resources.