GigaWhat: Clean Waste

GigaWhat: Clean Waste

Author: Mongabay.com February 25, 2022 Duration: 23:07

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


From the team at Mongabay.com comes Everything Environment by Mongabay India, a podcast that digs into the complex and often overlooked stories shaping India's natural world. This isn't just about headlines; it's about connecting the dots between biodiversity, climate change, and the natural resources that underpin daily life across the subcontinent. Each episode is a deep dive, whether it's examining the real-world impacts of the country's clean energy transition, uncovering lessons from ancient paleoscience, or giving a voice to lesser-known species fighting for survival. The conversations move beyond abstract problems to focus on tangible solutions and the people on the front lines. By weaving science and news into compelling narrative, this podcast places environmental discussions exactly where they belong: central to our understanding of India's present and future. You'll hear clear analysis and on-the-ground reporting that makes intricate topics accessible, fostering a deeper appreciation for the interconnectedness of ecology, policy, and community. For anyone curious about the forces shaping our environment, this series offers essential listening.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 28

Everything Environment by Mongabay India
Podcast Episodes
GigaWhat: Clean the messy trail [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:47
The clean energy sector maintains that it is crusading the fight against climate change. But first, governments and companies have to fix the road to making clean energy technologies. The supply chain to create clean ene…
GigaWhat: Creating rural jobs with renewables [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:07
Lack of energy access limits the rural economy. But reliable electricity creates an infrastructure for rural entrepreneurs and gives people a chance to work on their aspirations. In rural India, decentralised renewable e…
GigaWhat: Clean-washing by dams? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:09
Hydropower has been an old and reliable source of energy in India. Until a few years ago, India considered a hydropower project renewable only when the installed capacity was less than 25 megawatt (MW). But then, in 2019…
GigaWhat: Farms harvest solar energy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:19
What are the high hurdles for India to uplift its people and realise its potential on the world stage? Two of the most significant ones are securing food for its large population and providing enough energy to power home…
GigaWhat: Renewables go reckless [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:13
The loss of biodiversity, the sixth mass extinction, high chances that you would have heard these terms. It's clear what pushed us into this situation - overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, the way we farm,…
GigaWhat: Renewable energy, limited land [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:34
Let's visualise the sheer expanse of one of India's largest solar parks, the Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka. An aerial view of the site shows a never-ending sea of glass panels and wires spread across 13,000 acres. Tha…
GigaWhat Trailer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:28
GigaWhat will explore some of the biggest questions, challenges, and opportunities in India's transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources. As countries commit to cutting their carbon emissions to tackle climate…