Isra-Mart srl: EU exempts solar panels from toxins rule

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Isra-Mart news:

The solar industry was celebrating last week after the EU confirmed late on Friday that it would exempt solar panels from new chemicals regulations that had threatened to effectively ban certain thin-film solar technologies.

The revised directive on hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, which was ratified into law last week, imposes a general ban on six hazardous substances, including cadmium, which is commonly used in cadmium telluride thin-film solar technologies.

However, the solar industry secured an exemption from the directive for solar cell technologies last autumn, while certain energy-saving light bulbs have also escaped the ban.

"In order to attain the EU's ambitious targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency, photovoltaic panels to produce energy from solar light do not have to comply with the restriction," EU ministers said in a statement.

"The ban will now in principle apply to all electrical and electronic equipment, as well as to cables and spare parts."

The revised act will be published in the Official Journal of the EU, giving member states 18 months to transpose the directive into national law.