METI and the Ministry of the Environment (MoE) held the fifth meeting of the Study Group on Disposal and Recycling of Renewable Energy Power Generation Facilities and discussed how to provide information about contained substances in PV modules in August,2023. At the previous meetings, they classified information necessary to dispose and recycle PV modules into the following four items: 1) names of manufacturers, manufacturing period, the contained substance information of lead, cadmium, arsenic, and selenium; 2) dissolution test results of the contained substances which final disposal companies point out; 3) glass composition information of sheet glass manufacturers; and 4) contained substances information of valuable metals to judge business profitability. They also discussed how to make a database of the contained substance information. 

<Key points>

• • The Study Group is considering the direction of providing information on substances contained in PV modules
  • When applying for new FIT / FIP approval, the applicants will be required to use the PV modules of the models whose manufacturer’s name, manufacturing period, and information on the content of four substances of lead, cadmium, arsenic, and selenium are registered
  • Including the information on the PV modules for already-approved projects, the information will be shared by putting it into the database. After creating the database, new approval or approval of change is not allowed for the models whose substance content information is not registered
  • When disposing of the PV modules of a model for which information on contained substances in them is not registered, it will be required to investigate the contained substances and provide information to the waste disposal company and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)

• • Organize and confirm the main opinions of the hearings at the previous meetings of the Study Group
  • As an expected issue for the disposal and recycling of PV power generation facilities, the provision of information on contained substances and measures against inappropriate management and leaving them unattended were mentioned, and the direction of consideration was presented

Consideration on the provision of information on the substances contained in PV modules

Specific measures to require the provision of information on substances contained in PV modules when applying for new FIT and FIP approvals

• It is required to use PV modules of the models that have registered the information on contained substances
• Information required: Manufacturer’s name, manufacturing period, and the information of the content of four substances of lead, cadmium, arsenic, selenium (standard value: 0.1 wt%)

Glass composition information such as antimony and content of valuable metals are the items recommended to be displayed

A system that facilitates information sharing by creating a database, including the information on the PV modules for alreadyapproved projects

Under the FIT and FIP programs, manufacturers and other organizations register the models of PV modules that meet technical standards with the JPEA Proxy Application Center (JP-AC), and as of April 2023, more than 20,000 models have been registered