Sustainability and Circularity in Solar Energy Development

First, legislation and incentives should be established to encourage the installation of solar panels on buildings. Additionally, we can develop large-scale solar facilities by integrating multiple uses within the same location. It is also essential to create a circular value chain, where solar panels are designed with recycling in mind.

SINTEF is participating at COP as an independent observer, committed to advancing sustainable climate and energy solutions. To support this goal, we are providing advice to climate negotiators on 15 key areas with the potential to significantly reduce emissions.

• SINTEF’s  advice for COP29: Technology for a Faster Global Climate Transition

Recommendations for Solar Energy Development

• Facilitate the installation of solar panels on buildings through legislation and incentives.
• Implement large-scale solar farms through dual purposing of spaces.
• Ensure solar energy’s sustainability by making the value chain circular and designing solar panels to be recycled.
• Secure solar energy as a globally exploited resource by counteracting monopolies in production capacity.
• Cooperate on legislation and incentives across national borders.
• Remove barriers to large-scale solar energy implementation by integrating storage technologies, introducing grid measures and developing digital forecasting tools.
• Develop silicon-based tandem solar cell technology for efficient energy harvesting.

Problem

Solar cells convert sunlight into electricity without going through other energy carriers. This has many advantages. The technology is completely scalable: from tiny, specialised applications to large solar parks, electricity can be generated directly where the need is. This has led to an enormous industrial growth in the production of solar cell systems of 26% annually between 2013 and 2023. Today, global investments in solar cells are greater than all other generation technologies combined, and solar is expected to become the largest contributor to renewable electricity in 2028.

Like all renewable energy, solar cells require a lot of space. It is currently estimated that only 2.2% of Europe’s total area can be used for solar and wind energy production, 0.2% of which comes from solar panels on roofs. Scaling up solar energy will very likely lead to conflicts on use of space. Large solar cells also require a great amount of material and, despite their long lifespan, significant amounts of waste still must be handled when older solar panels need to be replaced. This waste flow poses a major challenge from a circularity perspective.

Over the last ten years, the efficiency of commercial solar panels has increased from 16% to over 22%.The best solar cells have an efficiency close to the theoretical maximum potential for the current technology. If this is to continue to increase, new materials and new production technology must be developed.

Securing local production capacity is necessary from both a political and security perspective, in order to prevent certain countries and regions gaining a monopoly. Europe, and to a very large extent Norway, used to be key players in the value chain for solar panel production, but Asia (94%), and China in particular (86%), have now taken over and completely dominate. A re-establishment of the solar industry in Europe will require political measures, and the development of production technologies that also consider requirements on environmental footprints and working conditions.

Solar energy is, by nature, very variable, with the amount of energy available varying between summer and winter, day and night, and good and bad weather. This leads to challenges related to balancing load against supply, which can slow down the phasing in of solar energy, and must be resolved with measures in a number of areas related to grid and storage solutions. In addition to this, challenges associated with the solar cell systems themselves require digital solutions to ensure predictable energy delivery through the use of computer models and artificial intelligence.

Solutions

The potential to harvest solar energy on buildings must be utilised quickly and fully. It is important that all stakeholders across the value chain are given stable and predictable framework conditions that enable long-term investments. There are many factors related to solar cells in Nordic and arctic conditions that have been insufficiently explored, and should be mapped in order to develop the right technical solutions that are adapted to these environments. For example, low temperatures have a positive impact on the durability of the systems, which has a direct impact on the profitability of the investment.

Solar energy from buildings alone is not sufficient, and solutions for other types of spaces must be developed quickly and in parallel. The impact of such solutions on nature and the environment must be quantified so that fact-based considerations can be made. Schemes that require the dual use of spaces will be an important aspect of these solutions. For example, land that is used for food production can also be used to produce solar energy, resulting in a more efficient use of land that doesn’t negatively impact food supply. Floating solar systems can also make use of spaces with a smaller risk of a conflict of use. In this case, it is important to map and consider the impact on life in and below the water’s structures, and develop robust and cost-effective structures.

Solar cells will be made of silicon in the foreseeable future. However, in order to continue to develop efficiency and open up new areas of use, research should be done on combining silicon with other materials in so-called tandem solar cells, wherein the different materials harvest different parts of light in the most efficient way possible. If solar energy is to be a sustainable solution from a material perspective, solar panels must be designed to be recycled.

In addition to measures related to energy storage and grids, it is important to develop digital solutions that can predict the variations in the supply from different types of solar systems for the best possible integration. In this case, it becomes essential to utilise the opportunities that the development of artificial intelligence have given us.

In order to secure a local energy supply, and avoid a market that is dominated by a few, large global players, business must be ensured good economic conditions and be protected against unfair competition. For Europe, developing technologies that take health and safety standards and working conditions into account is essential. The value chain must be viewed from a European perspective, and local strengths and prerequisites must be used in collaboration.

Main COP29 recommendation: International research communities and industrial partners are developing technologies to reduce emissions and advance the energy transition, and we strongly recommend establishing a global North-South R&D program with open, competitive calls to ensure a fair, accelerated path to a sustainable economy.