Proposed Changes to EU Hazardous Substances Regulations Threaten PV Industry
By Heinz Kundert, President, SEMI Europe

The PV industry was founded on a rich legacy of environmental insights and values. Many of the industry’s early visionaries saw the benefits of clean, renewable energy and had the foresight to question continued reliance on fossil fuels. This legacy of environmental stewardship will always be fundamental part of our industry. Maintaining and building upon this legacy will require collaborative industry effort that are coordinated globally. Only by working together—across borders and across the supply chain—can we ensure this legacy is preserved.

Part of our responsibility towards environmental stewardship is to help the industry develop effective and meaningful environmental, health and safety (EHS) policies, guidelines and best practices, including government regulation and policies that enable high levels of sustainable business performance without excessive costs or redundant or conflicting requirements. We believe that keeping governments well informed of intended and unintended impacts of proposed policies is an essential part of the PV Group mission. As part of this responsibility, an important issue for the PV industry is proposed changes to European regulations on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS).

RoHS regulations restrict the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, including equipment necessary for the manufacturing of solar cells and modules. PV manufacturing equipment is currently excluded from the scope of RoHS under the large-scale stationary industrial tool (LSIT) exclusion. This exclusion was retained in the initial proposal for the recast of ROHS by the EU Commission published in December 2008.

However, in October 2009, a draft proposal on ROHS recast by the committee responsible of the EU Parliament was published. This proposal would eliminate the LSIT exclusion that covered PV manufacturing equipment. These proposed changes also include equipment used to manufacture semiconductors (integrated circuits) solid state / LED lighting, microelectrical mechanical systems (MEMS), and flat panel displays (FPD).

Loss of exclusion from RoHS for PV manufacturing equipment is a very serious issue that threatens the entire supply chain. Including manufacturing equipment under RoHS will hinder the growth of the European PV industries, negatively impacting businesses and European leadership in green technology development. European RoHS regulations have also served as benchmarks for other countries so the impact of these changes could extend beyond the EU.

• No significant environmental risk exists from PV manufacturing equipment: RoHS goals would not be enhanced as no significant environmental risk exists from PV manufacturing. PV tools, systems and equipment are installed in very limited numbers and locations, in contrast to consumer products. In addition, manufacturing equipment is highly reusable and industry practices ensure appropriate controls against environmental contamination risks.
• Reduced competitiveness of the European PV industries: Compliance implementation costs are disproportionately high for the PV industry as compared to other products currently under the scope of RoHS. Many types of PV and semiconductor manufacturing equipment is complex with thousands of components procured from a multi-tiered, global supply chain. Demonstrating RoHS conformance would require years of supplier micro-managing for new equipment and would be almost impossible for used equipment. Complying with the current RoHS substance restrictions could shut down equipment supply to Europe until product redesign is completed.

Losing the LSIT exclusion in the EU RoHS legislation would be bad for Europe and for other countries as well. The PV Group is urging the European Parliament, Council of Ministers, and European Commission - before they make any changes in scope - to apply a comprehensive and detailed impact assessment to quantify the environmental impacts and administrative costs. This assessment should follow the same approach as the formal review that has already been undertaken to assess the effects of expanding the scope of RoHS to cover medical and monitoring equipment.

The PV Group urges members and industry partners, especially those located in Europe, to assist in these advocacy efforts. If you would like to join the efforts of the RoHS Working Group, please contact me, Heinz Kundert at hkundert@semi.org and/or Sanjay Baliga at sbaliga@semi.org (SEMI EHS Senior Manager).

February 2010, PV Group The Grid