Shining a Light on Solar Recycling
Catherine Fink
What happens when technology made for the good goes bad? Unfortunately, solar panel waste is a growing problem as photovoltaics gain traction in our energy economy. According to NREL, these “decommissioned PV modules could total 1 million tons of waste in the United States by 2030, or 1% of the world’s e-waste. This presents not only waste management concerns but also opportunities for materials recovery and secondary markets.” Many panels owned by the first generation of solar adopters are coming to the end of their natural lives: “More than 90% of photovoltaic (PV) panels rely on crystalline silicon and have a lifespan of about 30 years. Forecasts suggest that 8 million metric tons (t) of these panels will have reached the end of their working lives by 2030, a tally that is projected to reach 80 million t by 2050.” While the numbers are daunting, with the right legislation and investment in recycling technology, we can make solar a circular economy.
The solar industry is booming, and the Inflation Reduction Act is set to encourage even more investment in renewables by extending the 30% investment tax credit for solar projects. Unfortunately, “As PV [photovoltaic] demand increases, so will the need to mine valuable materials”[1]. The top four minerals necessary for solar panels are copper, silicon, silver, and zinc. Mining these metals has led to catastrophic environmental degradation, so it is imperative that climate-conscious countries develop effective means to recycle existing solar panels. Unfortunately, only about ⅓ of global demand for copper is met through recycling. The other two-thirds comes from traditional pit mining, which is notoriously toxic and dangerous. For example, in copper mines, “Companies dig huge holes into the ground, going deeper than the water table. Heavy machinery kicks up dust, polluting the air. Chemicals are used to leach the mineral out of ore, and exposed water is forever contaminated. Some operations…will have to pump water in perpetuity, even after there is no longer copper to be found, so that contaminated water from the mine site doesn’t flow back into the wider water table.” These mining impacts potentially outweigh the benefits of the solar panels, so social advocates naturally promote recycling.
However, many current regulations in many US states hamper the development of the solar recycling industry, making it cost prohibitive and/or literally out of reach in most states. According to Kate Collardson, co-founder of SolarRecycle.org and 16-year solar industry veteran, only three states have legislation specifying PV waste classification (CA, NY, HI); 18 states have legislation concerning PV system removal, and only WV has legislation concerning decommissioning bonding. Three states currently have legislation to study or to consider studies related to solar decommissioning (LA, SC, NC). Just looking at the SolarRecycle map, it is obvious how few and far between solar recycling options are. Colorado, however, is well-situated to become a major hub for solar recycling because of its central location and robust commercial rail system.
Although the lack of regulation presents problems, so too does the wrong kind of legislation. According to Collardson, classifying decommissioned solar panels as “hazardous waste” is a major roadblock to solar recycling because that label demands huge resources in order to comply with the recycling guidelines. Thankfully, in 2020 California redesignated solar panels to fall into the universal waste category: “The new regulation on solar panels, also known as photovoltaic modules, provides a less restrictive and more streamlined alternative to waste management for solar panels, while still maintaining restrictions on toxic chemicals such as lead, cadmium and selenium.” This should tend to reduce the cost of solar recycling, create more opportunities, and inspire other states to do the same.
An additional solution for more states to pass landfill bans on solar panels, effectively forcing individuals to recycle them. Currently, “19 states and the District of Columbia…have an express landfill or disposal ban on electronic devices.” This only works to encourage solar panel recycling, however, if A) solar panels are regulated as electronic waste and not hazardous waste, and B) recycling centers are set up to receive the panels and workers are trained to break them down into component parts. This is a challenging process, for two reasons: first, there are currently between 16-42 solar recycling facilities in the U.S.; secondly, as the reality of global supply chains means that solar panel construction and components are not standardized. Therefore, solar recycling requires higher levels of training and “no one technique has emerged as the dominant process to isolate components from each other.” One solution, according to Collardson, could be a mobile disassembly unit outfitted to travel around a state providing far flung communities with the experts needed to manage the complicated solar recycling process. Once PVs get recycled, many end markets exist for the recycled elements, such as:
● Aluminum: Cans, Airplane Components, Building Facades, Bicycles
● Glass: Fiberglass, Reflective Beads in Road Stripes
● Copper and Other Precious Metals: Electronics
● Silicon: Solar Modules
This list presents an exciting array of opportunities to repurpose valuable materials and to create green-collar jobs through recycling programs: “According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, by 2030, the cumulative value of recoverable raw materials from end-of-life panels globally will be about $450 million, which is equivalent to the cost of raw materials currently needed to produce about 60 million new panels.” With a few purposeful legislative adjustments to coding, the nationwide adoption of an electronics ban in landfills, and opportunistic use of the IRA funds for investment in solar recycling facilities and training, the benefits of PVs can live on even when the sun sets on their original form.
[1] Id.