Are you scratching your head over what to do with old solar panels? After dissecting solar panel recycling’s tricky challenges yesterday, today I’m plunging headfirst into solutions.
First up, I’m bringing in Megan Jones from Circular PV Alliance (CPVA) – who made an appearance in Part One of this series. She dropped some serious knowledge at the recent Smart Energy Conference about decommissioned solar panels that still have a lot of life in them. I’ll also reveal a literal silver lining to this challenge: the untapped potential of silver in our old solar panels.
Because I know you want real, actionable solutions, I’ve compiled a go-to guide on where you can recycle your solar panels across Australia today. From grassroots initiatives to large-scale recycling operations and even innovative upcycling projects, I’ve got it all covered.
So, stick with me as we explore a future where no solar panel goes to waste, and each one gets a new lease on life or, at the very least, a responsible farewell.
Reuse Or Recycle?
Megan Jones, the co-founder of CPVA, is an expert in circular economy and a big fan of using the waste hierarchy, which prioritises “reuse” over “recycling”.
Decommissioned panels are still working
“At CPVA, we asked the question, can decommissioned solar panels be reused? And the short answer is yes. We ran a micro pilot project with PVLab in Canberra. We did a four-stage testing process and the results even surprised us.”
“We found that the panels were around ten years old, but all of them were still operating at about 96% of their nameplate power output. All of them passed a wet leakage safety test and microcracking wasn’t an issue. So why are they being thrown out? At the very least, shouldn’t they be recycled?”
“The overwhelming consensus from everyone we interviewed was that there is concern that panels are being decommissioned very early into their lifespan and whilst they’re still fully functional.”
Collaborating with the University of Queensland, the CPVA explored end-of-life use markets for reclaimed PV panels. They found a market ripe with potential.
The Value Of Silver
Also at the Smart Energy conference was Darren Johanneson, the head of circular economy strategy at the Active Group. Johanneson pointed out that although silver makes up less than half a percent of a solar module’s mass, it represents about 55% to 65% of the material value. If harnessed correctly, this waste stream could be worth approximately $600 million over the next decade.
Relative values of raw materials in a solar panel. Image: IRENA
Peak silver
“To put that into some context, peak silver production is expected to peak in the mid-2030s. We’re going to be able to get less and less raw material out of the ground. So economically for this industry to exist into the future, it’s got to start recovering the silver that’s in the solar modules. The value of the silver that’s going to landfill currently in solar modules is roughly about three to $5 million a year. And at scale, it’s worth about $25 million a year just in the silver alone.”
(Another) draft plan and pilot program
Darren’s company, Activ, is currently piloting an industry-led Solar Stewardship Scheme as part of the Draft Queensland E-Products Action Plan 2023-2033. In collaboration with the Queensland government and the Smart Energy Council, they intend to divert end-of-life solar panels from landfill and investigate the recovery of useful materials.
But… do we need a ‘pilot’ program? How about a program? Can’t we just do this thing?
Where can I get my solar panels recycled right now?
Well, that depends on what you mean by “recycled”. Below are some places that take end-of-life solar panels. Most companies on this list are doing the best they can in a challenging environment. I encourage you to start conversations, ask questions about their processes, seek answers, and report back here.
Victoria
“Ecoactiv is an advocate of clean energy. It is our mission to support the industry in taking back and recycling end-of-life solar panels across Australia. We have refined the solar panel recycling processes and have collection and dismantling centres in all major states, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide.”
“Australia’s only solar panel recycling facility where a circular economy is created and 100% of the recovered materials are reused. Whilst many others are trying hard to create a solution, Lotus Energy has already successfully tried and tested a full end-of-life solar panel recycle plant.”
New South Wales
Elecsome claims to be Australia’s first solar panel upcycling plant. While their work is admirable, they use the term “upcycling” very loosely. It’s really “recycling” because they use the crushed glass from solar panels to produce sand, a lesser-grade product.
“Our technology is derived out of a set of patented processes that enable the efficient recovery and transformation of solar panel components into value-added products used in the construction and manufacturing industries.”
“PV Industries is an Australian-owned recycling company aiming to minimize Australia’s environmental footprint. Our goal is to stop solar panel waste from being sent to landfill by collecting and recycling as many end-of-life solar panels as possible and supplying the recovered material to local manufacturers.”
This is my favourite. A community-based organization that upcycles and repurposes old solar panels and provides education and training for small businesses, apprentices, and school leavers in the Electrical and Renewable Energy Industry.
“Our purpose is simply to re-use solar panels and associated components where possible and repurpose those we can’t in an effort to keep equipment out of landfill and reduce costs to community and the environment associated with that of heavy industrial materials recycling. Anything more is just a bonus.”
South Australia
At the time of writing Reclaim PV website is down. A representative claims they are currently undergoing a ‘restructure’. My advice would be to avoid this company.
Queensland
From roof top to reuse, resolarcycle is Australia’s fastest growing solar panel reuse and recycling service. Our company was started to prevent good panels in working condition from ending up in landfill.
Solar Recovery Corporation (SRC)
“Solar Recovery Corporation is committed to diverting all end-of-life solar PV panels from landfill streams and to the recovery of all the materials from decommissioned panels for use in new applications to create new local jobs in new industries and delivering positive outcomes for our environment, sustainability practice and human health.”
Western Australia
“We aim to prevent solar panels from going to landfill. Being the awesome inventions they are they’re also notoriously difficult to recycle! Bar the aluminium frame they’re pretty much inextricable! We find purposes for all panels which are still of use, mainly we are sending what we can to hard-up countries where a small solar kit can make a house a home! Any panels we receive which cannot be repurposed, we recycle to Australian e-waste Standards.”
Any more?
Are there any other companies and organisations missing that should be included on this list? Maybe you’ve got some ideas on where we can ‘stick our solar panels’? Keep it clean and let me know.
Wrapping It Up
The challenges facing solar panel reuse and recycling in Australia are substantial, but with persistent effort, we are making progress.
Although solar panel recycling and reuse are pressing issues, let’s not lose sight of the big picture. Lowering our emissions is far above recycling solar panels on the list of priorities, even though they are inextricably linked. Let’s hope we can soon start to do a better job of both.
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Great article but I would suggest that you look at Reclaim PV on Crap Solar to see what they have done with their solar panels that they have “recycled”. They have gone under and left an enourmous mess of hazardous waste in multiple locations. A couple of companies that you have listed have their collection points as export facilities and are not recycling. The panels are packed in to containers and sent overseas.
Do you know what happens with them OS? Reuse eg in India for village electrification? Or just use of cheap labour and lax environmental regulationss for cheaper reclamation of materials?
I guess we will continue sourcing silver from mining – while (if) it is cheaper and more energy efficient than reclaiming it from extensive processing of panels.
I wonder why people dispose of perfectly good panels? Surely if only one panel in a string is dead, it could be simply bypassed. Or are rebate-subsidised replacements simply more desirable?
Similar comments regarding making sand from panel glass – digging sand out of a pit is surely less expensive and energy-intensive than recovering, purifying, and crushing glass (even if only considering the labour cost of manual handling)?
What do Europe and the USA do? Could we learn something from them?
Farmers could use old panels on shed rooves for waterproofing with the bonus of electricity generation. Never have enough sheds on a farm.
Great articles on this site. You would think that the authorities would have come up with some solutions. If a lot of the panels are still very much reusable. Why are they not collected at special collection depots, tested, sorted into suitable categories and used on large solar farms as an alternative to dumping them. Even if only 50% were reused. They could be used on Government buildings everywhere. We just seem to be a throw away society. The problem was always going to arise eventually. Look what has happened to the recycling of plastic bags. One company goes bust and no back up plan. Where are all the bags going now. Have the Greens ever raised any of these issue in Parliament?
Hi Chris. I think there will be some kind of product stewardship scheme implemented in Australia eventually. As usual it will be probably be reactive rather than proactive. Some examples of product stewardship schemes already existing are National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (NTCRS), MobileMuster, Cartridges 4 Planet Ark, and Paintback.
In 2016 the Commonwealth Government listed solar photovoltaic systems on the product stewardship ‘priority list’. Since then we’ve had national working groups, assessments, recommendations, impact statements, meetings, and more working groups, but we’re no further down the road.
The best thing we can do is keep on talking about it, but not in a way that scares people away from renewables.
I see the “it will never fly’ naysayers are active. Solar panels are a problem but it is one with solutions and it is a LOT cleaner and easier to recycle than say coal ash, petroleum coke or other toxic byproducts of the fossil fuel industry.
The first requirement is a ‘Pigouvian levy or tax’ to eliminate the cost advantage to landfill. i.e
https://e360.yale.edu/features/solar-energy-panels-recycling
$5 at the landfill. $18 to the recycling center. And they pay it! A tax or recycling deposit would be even more effective.
Then we can find ways to make solar panels easier to recycle and more cost effective. Most of the issues with recycling can be solved with a cheap and simple process that makes it much easier to separate the parts.
https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/solar-panel-recycling-microwave/
After I upgraded my 10 year old 4.9kW pv array for a much, much larger system in October 2021, the installers of my new system were able to re-purpose the panels and still perfectly operating 6kW Aurora inverter, rather than recycle them as they all operated as perfectly as 10yo pv system should.
Thanks, enjoyed reading both articles Kim.
Can you please tell us where the used panels go in SA if no recycling company here? Ben Baker
No specific idea where SA solar panels are recycled., My point was that solutions are possible and being discovered. Watch for it and petition your politicians to get them moving on it.
If there is a LOT of them, or if you can collect small lots from a lot of suppliers, then there may be a way to ship them to the recycler once this process has a pilot plant.
We need to demonstrate that there is a market for the technology and investment funds available. Otherwise it will never happen and we will be stuck in the landfill option forever. Money drives technology and money depends on consumer demands.
Hi Ben. Your guess is as good as mine. As I said in Part One, ask your local waste facility what happens to them, but don’t count on getting a qualified answer. If you’ve got plenty of free time you could keep digging and probing to find some answers from the various authorities. I think right now the best solution is to sell them on Marketplace or Gumtree if they’re still working. If they’re not working they’ll probably end up in landfill one way or another.
Hi Kim
I suggest reaching out to Lotus Energy, they are very helpful and can give some more detailed information. They already make products from the recycled products. From my research they are the only ones actually recycling.
The repurpose idea is great but there are no electrical standards and most old panels don’t have a Class C fire rating which makes them illegal. In the event of a fire the insurance issue could be serious. These people claiming to be repurposing are just sending to Africa. This again is illegal in Australia. (Basel Convention).
It’s sad that in the renewable energy industry, companies need to be forced to do the right thing
Cheers
Jim