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Analysis of institutional authors

Nieto-Morone MbAuthorMuñoz-García MáAuthor

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April 17, 2023
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Article
Hybrid Gold

State and prospects of photovoltaic module waste generation in China, USA, and selected countries in Europe and South America

Publicated to: Sustainable Energy & Fuels. 7 (9): 2163-2177 - 2023-05-02 7(9), DOI: 10.1039/d2se01685k

Authors:

Nieto-Morone, M B; Alonso-Garcia, M C; Rosillo, F G; Santos, J D; Munoz-Garcia, M A
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Affiliations

Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA) - Author
Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas - Author
CIEMAT, Dept Energia, Unidad Energia Solar Fotovolta, Ave Complutense 40, Madrid 28040, Spain - Author
TECNALIA, Basque Res & Technol Alliance BRTA, Parque Cient & Tecnol Bizkaia, Astondo Bidea,Ed 700, Derio 48160, Bizkaia, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, ETSIAAB, LPF TAGRALIA, Ave Puerta Hierro 2, Madrid 28040, Spain - Author
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Author
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid , Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas - Author
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Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) waste mass presents an environmental challenge while the PV installation rate is growing globally. Therefore, the assessment of PV waste mass generation is important for managing PV recycling and the refurbishment of wear-out modules. In this study, PV waste mass generation is projected for 2030 and 2050 based on the historical data of cumulative PV capacity and the targets of National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) for China, USA, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, the EU as a whole, the United Kingdom and some South American countries such as Brazil, Chile and Argentina. A projection for the cumulative installed power was calculated and compared to NECP targets, and this analysis shows that Germany accomplished 60% of its goal in 2021, followed by Argentina and China with 50% of their planned target achieved, while the furthest from its goal is the USA with 14%. For PV waste mass calculations, an updated equation is introduced for the power-to-mass conversion relation, and different reliability levels of the PV technology are taken into account by considering two degradation scenarios. Our results indicate that the European Union would generate more than 710 000 tonnes of cumulative PV waste mass in 2030, followed by China with around 265 000 tonnes, and the USA with 147 000 tonnes. This implies that in order to treat waste and also provide raw materials for the PV industry, the EU needs to become a stakeholder in the deployment of a solid recycling industry that is capable of managing a large mass of PV WEEE.
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Keywords

panelsEmerging waste

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Sustainable Energy & Fuels due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Fuel Technology.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.4. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 13, 2025)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 1.65 (source consulted: FECYT Mar 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2026-04-28, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 14
  • Scopus: 15
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-28:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 101.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 100 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 8.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 7 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/86349/

As a result of the publication of the work in the institutional repository, statistical usage data has been obtained that reflects its impact. In terms of dissemination, we can state that, as of

  • Views: 124
  • Downloads: 65
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (NIETO, MARIA BEATRIZ) and Last Author (MUÑOZ GARCIA, MIGUEL ANGEL).

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