Potential Cd emissions from end-of-life CdTe PV

Purpose Cadmium telluride photovoltaics (CdTe PV) have grown considerably in the last few years and are now a mainstream energy technology. Concern has been voiced regarding the potential impact caused by the dispersal of the Cd contained in the modules after they are decommissioned. This study presents a new comprehensive analysis of the end-of-life of CdTe PV and reports on the associated Cd emissions to air and water. Methods Three end-of-life scenarios were considered for CdTe PV. In the first one, 100% of the modules are collected and sent to recycling; in the other two, 85% of the modules are recycled, and the rest are assumed to be either treated as normal municipal solid waste or pre-selected and sent to landfills. All input and output data for module decommissioning and recycling were based on the information directly provided by the world-leading CdTe PV manufacturer (First Solar). The inventory modelling was performed with the GaBi life cycle analysis software package in conjunction with the Ecoinvent v.2 database. Results and discussion In all scenarios, end-of-life Cd emissions from CdTe PV were found to be relatively low, for instance when compared to those from NiCd batteries, when expressed per kilogram of Cd content. Conclusions The on-going growth of CdTe PV is unlikely to produce a worrisome increase in the overall Cd emissions to the environment; principally thanks to the expected stringent control of the related Cd-containing waste flows.