New Delhi: While asserting that India's journey towards the ambitious renewable energy target will pose a number of challenges, Secretary of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi said that one such challenge would be the disposal of solar waste. Speaking at the third edition of RE-Invest 2020 on Saturday, Chaturvedi said, "Some new challenges will crop up along the way, some of them are on the horizon. Then there are some which we do not know of yet. One example is the issue of solar waste."
He added that India will need a policy framework to guide the industry through these challenges.
"With our massive plans of installing solar capacity, this will become an issue," the MNRE Secretary remarked. He added that currently, India does not have a policy pertaining to the disposal of solar waste, such as solar PV modules. Chaturvedi was part of a panel that discussed the future of renewable energy in India. The average lifespan of a solar panel is around 20 years. These panels contain low percentage of heavy metals, which are hazardous and cannot be dumped in landfills.
While listing the challenges being faced by the government, Chaturvedi said that the Centre is already facing challenges while making land available for RE power projects. "We are already hearing about loss of land for grazing because of solar projects," said Chaturvedi. Land acquisition is a challenge for setting up utility-scale solar projects in India. However, during the Chief Ministers' plenary at RE-Invest 2020, state governments have assured investors of the availability of land and easy finance.
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