R3SOLVE: A Serious Game to Support End-of-Life Rooftop Solar Panel Waste Management

Abstract

A complex systems model is necessary to holistically address the end-of-life (EoL) solar panel waste problem. However, there is a significant challenge in communicating such a model to stakeholders. Serious games can overcome this challenge by simplifying a complex model via a user-friendly interface. It enables stakeholders to experiment with different decisions and understand their long-term impacts in a safe environment. In this paper, a serious game called R3SOLVE was designed from a previously developed system dynamics (SD) model. The goal of the game is to achieve certain collection and recovery outcomes through a mix of decisions ranging from product stewardship strategies, landfill regulation, technological investment, promotional effort, reuse strategy, and infrastructure improvement. The game has a single player mode, where a player can access all decisions, and a multiplayer (turn-based) mode, where two players with different roles work collaboratively to achieve the desired outcome. Rewards and penalties also exist in the game to promote players’ extrinsic motivation to use critical thinking. Both game modes have been tested in separate workshops to identify bugs and issues regarding goal clarity and in-game information. Future directions to conduct stakeholder workshops and the evaluation approach are also suggested at the end of this paper.

Review of Serious Energy Games: Objectives, Approaches, Applications, Data Integration, and Performance Assessment

“…Some studies worked on the use of gamification related to the panels' installation (e.g., Ouariachi et al [24] developed a game in which the users learn how solar panels can be effectively placed on farmlands, or Olszewski et al [98], presented a social gamification platform for stimulating the photovoltaic panels' installation) and technical issues (e.g., Salim et al [99] developed a serious game for improving the understanding and stakeholders' decision-making ability for end of life management of PV panels).…”

Impediments of product recovery in circular supply chains: Implications for sustainable development

“…The study proposed a mixed integer liner programming (MILP) model that adopted a heuristic algorithm reflecting that the model can assist manufacturers in deciding an optimal recovery strategy from sudden disruptions. Also, Salim et al (2021) developed a system dynamics (SD) model for managing rooftop solar photovoltaic panels based on the concept of CE. The study argued for a shared responsibility system across the supply chain for better recovery and fewer disruptions.…”