AN INTEGRATED DECISION-MAKING MODEL FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF END-OF-LIFE SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAICS: A CASE STUDY OF SPAIN

2022-9
Rizvi, Syed Muhammad Ali Haider
Solar photovoltaics have a finite service life, after which they are decommissioned. The volume of obsolete or end-of-life solar PVs is expected to be mammoth in future, owing to their extraordinary deployment in the past decade. The domination of a linear solar PV paradigm alongside a parabolic increase in solar PV installations makes the exacting challenges of the end-of-life management of solar PVs seem inevitable. Therefore, this research intends to draw policymakers' attention toward sustainable end-of-life options. The main contribution of this research is the provision of an integrated decision-making model which ascertains the extent of sustainability of four end-of-life solar PV management scenarios from the lens of a triple bottom line approach. The model includes a forecasting framework for two different installation periods and various waste projection scenarios. Following, it utilizes holistic methodologies such as the life cycle assessment, cost-benefit approach and social indicators for determining the environmental, economic and social sustainability impacts of the end-of-life solar PV scenarios. The devised framework is implemented as a case study (on Spain) to further increase the research's granularity. Utilizing the expert responses garnered through questionnaires, criteria weights for the three sustainability dimensions and assessment indicators are calculated and an overall sustainability score for each end-of-life scenario is derived. This research also inclusively emphasizes the drivers, enablers and barriers of sustainable end-of-life PV management to cope with the momentous volume of end-of-life solar PV in future.

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Citation Formats
S. M. A. H. Rizvi, “AN INTEGRATED DECISION-MAKING MODEL FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF END-OF-LIFE SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAICS: A CASE STUDY OF SPAIN,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2022.