CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2021
| Author | Kobalava, Salome |
|---|---|
| Title | CAN MORE PHOTOVOLTAIC WASTE SOLVE ITS OWN PARADOX? Examining Austrian photovoltaic technology experts' evaluation of photovoltaic waste and its socio-environmental risks |
| Summary | This thesis explores the less apparent facet of photovoltaic technology—its waste. More specifically, it looks at the environmental risks that are associated with the recycling, and supply chains of this technology. Situated in the Austrian context, the country which is expanding its solar electricity production capacity and upscaling photovoltaic technology under climate-neutrality commitments, this research investigates its subject of interest through qualitative interviews with experts and key stakeholders from the Austrian solar sector. Photovoltaic waste is a new and under-researched topic in anthropology. While existing literature focuses on rural communities of the Global South and micro-practices around photovoltaic waste, I turn to the matter of concern in the context of a highly industrialized country of the Global North and examine it from the industrial perspective. I show that even in the conditions of proper recycling infrastructure and regulations, some risks remain unaddressed in the practices of photovoltaic waste treatment, challenging the underlying green principles of the technology. I argue that coupling photovoltaic waste treatment with growth principles implies economization of environmental risks which entrusts their elimination to the logic of profitability. I suggest that to create safer material infrastructure for solar power expansion, it is necessary to politicize photovoltaic waste. To develop my argument, I explore the topic from a political ecology lens and use the sociological concept of risk which means that risk cannot be reduced to technical measures alone but results from human action, social processes, and political decisions. |
| Supervisor | Dafinger, Andreas; Sopranzetti, Claudio |
| Department | Sociology MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2021/kobalava_salome.pdf |
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