Fotovoltaico tra prestazione e sostenibilità: una sfida per il futuro Photovoltaics between performance and sustainability: a challenge for the future

Renewable and sustainable energy generation technologies have been at the forefront because of concerns about the environment, energy independence, and the high cost of fossil fuels. Much of the renewable energy research has been devoted to photovoltaic technology which is fundamental to sustainable energy supply, and it is currently in transition to a new generation of efficient and low-cost products. Despite these environmental benefits, however, the growing photovoltaic installation capacity achieved worldwide brings with it an increasing number of decommissioned modules. Consequently, there is also growing concern about the environmental impact due to the risks associated with the improper management of PV waste to which proper attention has not been paid. In fact, successfully recovering them is of paramount importance because it would reduce resource extraction and waste and generate sufficient economic return and value to finance the production of other PV modules. To support the establishment of appropriate strategies and realistic eco-friendly goals, this review presents a comprehensive discussion of the importance of PV technologies for the decarbonization of energy systems but, more importantly, systematically reviews "state of the art" PV research to identify areas along the value chain where circular strategies could be implemented to promote the PV industry's transition to circularity.