“Urban mining”: solar panel recycling grows in the US

As countries try to transition away from fossil fuels in the fight against climate change by sources of renewable energynew pollution challenges arise, such as disposing of solar panels that reach the end of their useful life.

Previously a novelty, the installation of photovoltaic cells has become widespread in USAespecially in the scorching American West, where California leads the industry.

But with an expected use of about 30 years, the first generation of panels is facing retirement, which began to raise questions about how to avoid massive solar cemeteries.

“What is about to happen is a tsunami of solar panels that will return to the supply chain,” Adam Saghei, executive director of We Recycle Solar, one of the first companies dedicated to recycling and reusing these enormous and heavy plates.

The development of technology has also generated new and more effective models that, in addition to tax incentives, encourage consumers, residential and business, to update their panels by sending the old ones into solar limbo.

«One of the challenges with any industry is that there is not much planning for a circular economy. “(Solar) is a sustainable form of energy, so a plan is needed for the retirement of these assets.”

Reuse of solar panels

In fact, the reuse of panels is another important factor that opens space for companies like We Recycle Solar, explains Saghei.

Between 1 and 5% of the cells have factory defects or break during installation. Still operational, the panels can be reused and sold in other markets, maintains the executive director.

“These factors influence (the creation of) a company like ours that needs to fill this gap to take these goods, dismantle them and obtain raw materials, or obtain some of the reusable goods to send to underserved markets,” explains Saghei.

The rest, which has reached its operating ceiling, undergoes a review to enter the complex machinery that was specifically designed to recycle various types of sheets.

Robotic arms and belts separate the components and distribute them in containers in order to market them for other purposes such as sand traps, golf courses or the industrial sector itself.

“We do something called ‘urban mining,'” Saghei explains, pointing to large volumes of glass and smaller amounts of silver, copper, aluminum and silicone.

“We take (components) out of current products and reintroduce them into the supply chain.”

The factory has the capacity to process 7,500 modules per day, and very little is wasted, says its executive director.

“Depending on the model and brand of the panels (…) we can achieve a recovery rate of up to 99%.”

Saghei estimates that within the framework of the United States’ climate goals, some 500 million panels have been installed in the country.