A group of researchers from Brazil’s Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR) has proposed a framework to assess the recycling costs of PV systems, focusing on emerging economies. The framework is based on a literature review and an expert evaluation they conducted.
“This study proposes a structured decision-support framework to support the assessment and management of recycling costs associated with end-of-life photovoltaic panels, with a particular focus on emerging economies,” the group said. “Emerging economies provide the empirical context for developing and validating the proposed framework. Consequently, the category weights and cost prioritization reflect this context, although the framework may be adapted to different regulatory, technological, and market conditions.”
The researchers developed the framework through a systematic literature review, functional cost classification, and expert assessment. Searches in Scopus and Web of Science initially identified 5,784 records, with filtering, duplicate removal, and screening yielding 23 studies explicitly reporting PV recycling costs.
The team extracted 33 cost components and used the Function Analysis System Technique (FAST) to group them into five categories. The first two were infrastructure and facilities (equipment depreciation, collection point operating costs, collection point installation, recycling site installation, and facility investment); and logistics and resources (input storage, transportation, waste collection, auxiliary material acquisition, reverse logistics, and component inventory).
The remaining categories were operations and production (scale, processing, electricity, component handling, component treatment, labor, equipment maintenance, general operating costs, component dismantling, machinery and equipment cleaning, and disposal of non-recoverable parts); management and finance (administrative management, administrative costs, sales costs, material costs, taxes and fees, opportunity costs, indirect economic costs, and financing through bank loans); and sustainability and environmental impacts (external environmental costs, avoided landfill costs, and environmental management costs).
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