Scholarly record

PV PANELS EVALUATION IN CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Krzysztof Pikoń

Abstract

The market for electricity production from renewable sources is characterized by very high dynamics of change. This applies not only to total output power, but also to technological changes in waste production and management. Proper planning should prove to be a key issue for implementing the circular economy. Proper environmental assessment is a very important part of the decision-making process. Usually, we used current data to assess the environmental impact. In a rapidly changing environment, this can lead to many mistakes. The solar (PV) market is one of the most important. Cell efficiency increases rapidly and costs decrease. The waste scenario, which should be assessed at an early stage of decision making, can have a significant impact on the EI assessment, and thus consistently on the decision-making process. The use of current data seems inappropriate due to the rapid changes in the technology used to manufacture and utilize PV cells. The assessment of the environmental impact of PV cells on the environment is described in the manuscript. The process is based on a probabilistic approach - which means that the uncertainty of the future is taken into account. Data on current trends in technological change are used during the assessment process to obtain better results and better inform the decision-making process. This is a key issue in planning a circular economy. We should take into account not only the current state of knowledge, but based on current trends and possible future state.

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