Solar boom risks leaving toxic legacy

Solar power is Thailand's master key in the fight against global warming.

- Nattaphorn Buayam

A need to cut electricity bills and reduce emissions gave birth to the solar energy boom. Yet the government and operators are not preparing to deal with a gargantuan amount of toxic waste when these panels gradually die.

(PHANG KHON MUNICIPALITY OFFICE)

It is cheap, popular, and even promoted by the state. But beneath the success story lies a big question: What happens when millions of panels begin to die?Needless to say, without proper measures, Thailand's clean energy rush risks dumping a toxic legacy for the next generation.

Under pressure from climate change, the government has accelerated its push towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. Solar energy sits at the centre of this strategy. With falling costs and policy support, installed capacity has grown at remarkable speed — from just 2.5 megawatts two decades ago to nearly 5,000 megawatts today — and continues to expand across all sectors.

The latest tax incentives for rooftop solar reinforce this momentum, signalling another push into the clean energy era.

The problem is that the policy conversation still stops at how to get more solar panels installed at factories and homes. What comes after — the full life cycle of solar panels — remains largely unplanned.

Policymakers must look beyond installation, or Thailand's clean energy dream will eventually make the country drown in a sea of toxic waste.

For solar to be genuinely clean and sustainable, the country must look beyond how many panels are installed. It must pay equal attention to what happens when those panels reach the end of their lifetime.

Promoting mass adoption without a clear system for managing old panels may help tackle climate change in the short term. In the long term, it creates a new environmental problem — one that future generations will be forced to clean up.