Department
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Major
Architectural Engineering
Research Advisor
Baur, Stuart Werner, 1965-
Advisor's Department
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Abstract
The last decade has seen enormous growth in the solar industry across the globe. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IREnA) in 2015 solar energy produced about 222 gigawatts worldwide with expected growth to top 4500 gigawatts by 2050. By comparison the United States is expected to see an additional 10.6 gigawatts in 2018. The Midwest has seen similar growth in the solar industry within the past decade. The problem is the technology used to convert the sun’s rays into electrical energy does not last forever. On average the industry rates a solar panel's life span around 25-30 years. Up to now limited quantities from early installations have been retired. The forecast for such systems will continue to grow. The once small quantities of glass and photovoltaic components will begin to grow from hundreds to thousands to millions of tons of material waste. This research provide a roadmap to the potential growth and opportunity to recycling solar technologies. It also illustrates some of the possible economic barriers including policy, transportation, value, and cost effective processes.
Biography
Divyesh Shelar is a 32 year old senior pursuing a Bachelor's in Architectural Engineering. He also holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Economics from Southern Illinois University. His plans for the future are to assimilate the knowledge of his two fields and work toward building economically sustainable housing.
Research Category
Engineering
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Award
Engineering poster presentation, Second place
Presentation Date
28 Apr 2017, 3:15 pm - 3:30 pm
Included in
Solar Panel Recycling in The United States
The last decade has seen enormous growth in the solar industry across the globe. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IREnA) in 2015 solar energy produced about 222 gigawatts worldwide with expected growth to top 4500 gigawatts by 2050. By comparison the United States is expected to see an additional 10.6 gigawatts in 2018. The Midwest has seen similar growth in the solar industry within the past decade. The problem is the technology used to convert the sun’s rays into electrical energy does not last forever. On average the industry rates a solar panel's life span around 25-30 years. Up to now limited quantities from early installations have been retired. The forecast for such systems will continue to grow. The once small quantities of glass and photovoltaic components will begin to grow from hundreds to thousands to millions of tons of material waste. This research provide a roadmap to the potential growth and opportunity to recycling solar technologies. It also illustrates some of the possible economic barriers including policy, transportation, value, and cost effective processes.
Comments
Joint project with Hattie Matthews