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Expanding solar power generation is key to reducing emissions worldwide. Solar panels produced in the world 720 terawatt-hours Energy, which accounts for about 3% of world electricity production in 2019. And it took about 46 million metric tons Solar panels to do this.
By 2030, about 8 million metric tons of decommissioned solar panels could accumulate globally. By 2050 this number 80 million. Recycling these panels can provide a new source for materials that would otherwise need to be removed (potentially unsafe or exploiter work conditions), making the sun a more sustainable piece of the clean energy puzzle.
What’s in the solar panel?
Solar panels are arranged like a sandwich with cells in the middle. About 90% of commercial solar panels use silicon as a semiconductor that converts light into electricity. Thin strips of metal, usually silver, cross the surface of the silicon crystals in each cell and carry electricity to the copper wires of the panel.
Solar cells are covered with a protective barrier, usually a clear plastic called EVA. There’s another layer of glass on top and a different type of plastic like PET covers the back. Everything is surrounded by an aluminum frame.
This layered structure protects the cells from external factors while allowing sunlight to enter, but when the panels reach the end of their useful life, it can be difficult to disrupt the structure.
a second life
Some companies try to refurbish and reuse inefficient panels, or at least salvage some of their components. Reuse is the simplest and cheapest way to “recycle” panels; It requires the least action and gives the highest price.
A panel can cost around $55, while a used panel can be resold for about $22. Or the components of the panel used can be sold for up to $18 in total. Meng Tao, professor of engineering at Arizona State University and founder of a solar panel recycling initiative called TG Companies.
Although some vendors offer used panels for sale to residential customers, they don’t offer much price savings. Panels, along with other equipment and permits, make up at most about half the cost of a residential solar array. Considering that used panels don’t generate a lot of electricity, the money saved by buying them may not be worth it.
Used panels that cannot be resold are either sent to landfill or some form of recycling. In the absence of federal powers, Washington recycling requirements for manufacturers have recently passed, and other states are now considering doing the same. Meanwhile, the EU requires manufacturers to collect and recycle used solar panels and to fund research into end-of-life solutions for the technology they produce.
About 8 million metric tons of decommissioned solar panels could accumulate by 2030.
Some waste facilities can recycle solar panels by mechanical means. Most aluminum comes out of the frame and grinds all glass, silicon, and other metals into a mixture called cullet, which can be sold for building materials or other industrial applications.
But the crumbs aren’t worth much—about $3 for a mix of panels. It’s not clear whether there will be buyers for all the scraps that will result from recycling more solar panels, Tao says. Being able to extract pure, valuable materials can help make recycling more profitable.
In 2018, waste management company Veolia, located near Paris, opened its first recycling line developed specifically for the recycling of solar panels. Located in Rousset, France, the facility also uses a mechanical recycling process, but because it is designed for solar panels, more components are recycled separately compared to facilities using general e-waste recycling equipment. But some companies are betting that other methods, such as thermal and chemical treatments, will be even more efficient.
Mining of old panels
ROSI Solar, a French startup founded in 2017, recently announced plans to build a new recycling facility in Grenoble, France. ROSI CEO Yun Luo said the company has developed a process to extract silver, silicon and other high-value materials from used panels. The facility will open before the end of 2022 under a contract from Soren, a French trade association.
Soren is also working with a French logistics company called Envie 2E Aquitaine, which will try to find other uses for decommissioned solar panels. Luo says that if the panels aren’t working, the company will remove the aluminum frame and glass before passing it to ROSI for recycling.
ROSI focuses on recovering silver and solar-grade silicon, as these two materials make up more than 60% of the cost of a panel. The company uses a proprietary chemical process in the remaining layers, focusing on removing tiny silver threads that conduct electricity from a working solar panel.
Luo declined to go into details, but says the company can recover nearly all silver in solid form, so it’s easier to separate it from other metals like lead and tin. Luo says the company has also recovered the silicon in a pure enough form for reuse in new panels or EV batteries.
Luo says that to be profitable, ROSI must recycle at least 2,000 to 3,000 tons of panels per year. Soren expects to collect around 7,000 tons of panels in 2021, and that number will likely more than double by 2025.
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