Solar power generation in Asia increases or increases lead pollution

Because off-grid solar energy between China and India uses lead-acid batteries to store energy. So solar power growth or lead pollution.

According to an analysis of government plans by researchers at the University of Tennessee, this move may release more than 2.4 million tons of lead pollution in China and India. This is because off-grid solar energy in both countries uses lead-acid batteries to store energy.

The research group also found that from the total amount of lead extracted, refined, used in battery production, and recycled, both countries have a large amount of lead leaked into the environment - China's figure is 33%, India is twenty two%. These findings were published in the Energy Policy magazine. India intends to add 12 GW of solar energy by 2020, including the distribution of 20 million solar lights. According to the authors, it intends to provide renewable energy to 80,000 villages that are not connected to the grid - 25% of which are not suitable for access to the grid - so it will rely on lead batteries. The low efficiency of the Indian battery production, lead mining and recycling industries means that the amount of lead leaked into the environment is likely to be high. Based on the emissions figures of new battery production units in India and China, the authors estimate that lead emissions amount to one-third of the world's total lead production. They attribute this high level of emissions to the inadequate management of environmental standards. Chris Cherry, one of the authors, said: "The lead pollution control is relatively new in the management space, so there are no legacy standards or countries' adherence to the 'norm'."

Subhes Bhattacharyya, who studies renewable energy systems in developing countries at the University of Dundee in the United Kingdom, agrees, but he said that the problem stems mainly from the disposal of batteries. He said: "In Europe, the battery supplier is responsible for the final disposal of the battery, even if the battery is used by others. There is no mechanism to implement such controls in India and China, and the penalty for violations is also very weak." Government representatives insisted that India's solar energy plan focuses on grid-based solar energy, which does not require lead batteries. Bharat Bhargava, Director of Photovoltaic Power, India's Ministry of New Energy and Renewable Energy, said: "I don't think this study takes into account India's focus on grid-based solar energy. Lead batteries used in solar energy account for only lead batteries used in India. To 1%, it is unfair to attribute lead pollution to solar energy," Bhattacharya said, and it is unlikely that a system connected to the grid will be developed in a short time. "The problem with (lead) batteries comes from small solar systems, which are widely used where the power grid cannot be powered or where there is no electricity grid. The number of such systems is in the millions, and this battery problem is even more severe."