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Amid the growing popularity of renewable energy in Brazil, a new and worrying environmental threat is silently beginning to emerge.
The promise of a more sustainable future, powered by wind and solar farms, may be hiding an even bigger problem: the massive accumulation of waste from these technologies, which is already beginning to show signs of an imminent ecological disaster.
As published this Sunday by the newspaper The Globe, the accelerated expansion of wind and solar plants in Brazil is accompanied by a gigantic challenge: the final destination of the equipment when it reaches the end of its useful life.
Experts warn that without a appropriate legislation, the country may face a worrying scenario of accumulated waste, with the potential to generate serious environmental impacts.
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Lack of adequate regulation
Brazil risks becoming a technological waste dump if measures are not taken immediately. In the municipality of Aquiraz, in Ceará, it is already possible to observe the result of the lack of effective policies for the disposal of equipment.
According to O Globo, wind turbine blades were abandoned irregularly on the banks of the Washington Soares Highway, highlighting the lack of preparation and the absence of specific regulations for the sector.
The wind vanes, which began to be installed in Brazil in the 1990s, have a useful life of approximately 20 years. This means that, in a few years, a large part of the installed structures will need to be replaced or decommissioned.
With more than 1.800 blades in operation since 2010, the country is approaching a major environmental challenge. And the problem is not just restricted to wind turbines.
The challenge of solar panels
Solar panels, with an average lifespan of 25 years, also represent a major environmental risk. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), by 2030, Brazil could generate between 2,5 and 8,5 tons of waste from the disposal of this equipment. Without an effective recycling policy, this number could grow exponentially, reaching 750 thousand tons by 2050.
Despite a 2020 decree including solar panels in the National Solid Waste Policy, Current legislation still leaves a lot to be desired.
Experts interviewed by O Globo highlight that the country lacks detailed standards that address the circularity of materials, something that is already a reality in European countries. Without these guidelines, Brazil could face an unprecedented problem in terms of technological waste.
Responsibility for disposal
One of the biggest questions raised by experts is who should be responsible for the correct disposal of solar panels and wind turbines..
Rodrigo Sauaia, president of the Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy (Absolar), highlights that the responsibility cannot fall on the end consumer, since the installation and dismantling of this equipment requires technical expertise.
He suggests that reverse logistics be conducted by capable companies, in partnership with the government, to guarantee an adequate destination for this waste.
However, the national solar panel industry is almost non-existent, with more than 90% of the equipment installed in Brazil being imported from China. This raises doubts about the feasibility of efficient recycling, as responsibility for recycling is unlikely to be assumed by foreign suppliers.
The future of wind waste
In the case of wind turbines, the scenario is equally worrying. Francisco Silva, regulatory technical director of the Brazilian Wind Energy Association (Abeeólica), defends the creation of specific regulations for the recycling of this equipment.
According to him, although the wind sector in Brazil is still relatively new, it is essential that measures are adopted now to avoid a future problem.
Wind blades, in particular, represent a major challenge. They are made from complex materials, such as fiberglass and epoxy resin, which make the recycling process difficult.
Currently, companies tend to store this decommissioned equipment, but this practice will not be sustainable as the number of plants increases.
The cost and neglect of disposal
The lack of regulation not only compromises the environment, but also generates high costs for companies operating in the sector.
In Xanxerê, Santa Catarina, Edson Zatta, owner of DVolta Logística Reversa, reports that Many companies neglect recycling solar panels. The disposal cost is approximately R$1,40 per kilo, and each panel weighs between 24 and 27 kilos.
This makes some companies choose to cheaper solutions and less appropriate, such as selling damaged panels to garbage collectors.
For experts such as Thais Moreno, from Machado Meyer Advogados, One solution would be to condition the licensing of plants to well-defined recycling plans. However, most Brazilian states still do not require these strategies, which contributes to the formation of equipment “cemeteries”.
The European experience and challenges in Brazil
Europe, which began investing in renewable energy long before Brazil, already faces the challenge of dealing with the waste from these technologies.
As pointed out by O Globo, the European Union has set ambitious goals for 2030, including the requirement that 25% of strategic raw materials, such as solar panels and wind turbines, be recycled.
However, Brazil is still far behind in this race. With one of the first solar plants installed in 1998 at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), the country should already be more advanced in regulating the disposal and recycling of this equipment.
Ricardo Rüther, coordinator of the Photovoltaic Solar Energy Laboratory at UFSC, highlights that recycling photovoltaic cells, which convert solar energy into electrical energy, is an expensive and complex process, but essential to guarantee the sustainability of the sector.
If nothing is done, Brazil runs the risk of becoming a huge cemetery for technological waste. The lack of a national policy to deal with the decommissioning of this equipment could turn the promise of clean energy into an environmental nightmare.
The question that remains is: Is Brazil prepared to deal with the consequences of this disorderly growth?
Just as PET bottles were a problem in the past, recycling now covers a large part of it.
And it will be for the solar panels, and prepare them for recycling and return them to the market.
I haven't worked with this equipment and the question I always asked myself when its useful life ends, what will happen to it? I was left without an answer!
fintech confiny is an evolution, that's easy to answer, Brazil is full of ideas to evolve, when it comes to environmental impact, that's where the problems begin, sudden death, that's exactly what we've been studying since 2016, how to create scrap, which normally will make Brazil dirty with non-recyclable waste, then it gets worse but we're almost there, welcome to the world's new seminary. Startup fintech confiny is taking a step forward, taking a leap towards its evolution,
I don't understand people. At the beginning of the energy crisis, everyone was worried about the environmental impact. Let's invest in new renewable energy sources that don't affect the environment. Then came wind energy and solar panels. Now the discussion about the waste that this will generate in a few years begins. So it's better to stay with no energy and stay in the dark. Hospitals don't work either. There are no more companies to make household appliances, which these people like so much. We're going to process everything with a manual pestle and mortar. The bad thing is that for cooking, because we'll have to preserve the forests. We'll have to eat raw meat and only leaves. We'll go back to the Stone Age. More modern people already have houses. We won't die in caves. But if that's the case, I'm going to buy some land near a spring because I'll produce my own food. Now, the person who did this research and article will have the courage to work in the fields?
I believe that this is 100% recyclable material and the reverse policy law can be applied to these contracts. Just half a minute of good will from city managers would solve this. The problem is that they have that half a minute for serious matters.