GigaWhat: Clean Waste

The world is looking towards the sun, wind, and other alternatives for energy, and so is India, as a way to tackle climate change and other environmental issues. The sight of solar and wind farms, rooftops lined with solar panels, and electricity-powered vehicles might soon be common.

For the first episode of GigaWhat, we begin at the end.

Where do solar modules go when they are no longer in use? What happens when a wind turbine finishes its lifecycle? Or when an electric car battery stops working? What happens to the materials that remain after a piece of equipment dies, breaks, or malfunctions? In a world already staring at a giant waste management problem, where will all this new kind of waste go?

In this episode, we will understand why this discussion about waste is vital at the start of the clean energy boom.

Follow GigaWhat to explore some of the biggest questions, challenges, and opportunities in India's transition from fossil fuel to clean energy sources.

Read the full Clean energy series on our website

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Guests: Subrahmanyam Pulipaka, CEO, National Solar Energy Federation of India Akanksha Tyagi, Programme Associate, Council on Energy, Environment and Water Kush Madan, Founder, UrSolar Satish Sinha, Associate Director, Toxics Link

Show notes: PV Management in India (EU-India TCP)

National Statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP26 Summit in Glasgow

2020 report by the Central Pollution Control Board

How India can Manage Solar Photovoltaic Module Waste Better (CEEW)

Credits: Host: Mayank Aggarwal

Writer and producer: Kartik Chandramouli

Copy editor: Aditi Tandon

Audio editor: Tejas Dayananda Sagar

Podcast production assistant: Ayushi Kothari

GigaWhat cover art designer: by Pooja Gupta