The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the Central government over the lack of infrastructure for the safe disposal and recycling of damaged or end-of-life Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels.
A bench led by Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Dr A. Senthil Vel highlighted the environmental hazards of improper disposal, including burying panels in agricultural fields or sending them to landfills, which degrade soil quality.
Notices were served to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, requiring responses by February 10, 2025.
The case was initiated from a letter petition by farmer Ashish Singh Chandel of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, who raised concerns about limited scrap value and hazardous materials in solar panels, such as lead and cadmium, which pose long-term risks to soil and water.
The Tribunal emphasized that only aluminium, copper, and glass components of PV panels are recyclable, while other materials, including polymers and silicon, are sent to landfills.
Ajay Mathur, Director General of the International Solar Alliance, noted the global lack of recycling standards for modern solar technology, complicating sustainable disposal.