A month ago, a severe hailstorm devastated Fighting Jays Solar, a solar panel field in Texas, destroying most of the photovoltaic panels. Hundreds of units are useless, others need repair, and citizens are concerned about a possible leak of toxic materials into the environment.
The US Environmental Protection Agency explains that damaged or removed solar panels can be considered hazardous waste and can cause environmental damage when their materials are released in large quantities. However, this fact invites us to reflect on the recycling and reuse of solar panels and technologies linked to renewable energy.
The solar photovoltaic sector is experiencing a great moment, both internationally and in our country, which is in the Top 10 countries for installed solar photovoltaic power per capita, according to data from Global Market Outlook (GMO). In fact, in Spain in June 2023 there were 67,886 photovoltaic installations, according to the PRETOR system, regulated by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
This translates into an installed power of 25,566 MW in Spain in 2023, with photovoltaics being the third electricity source in the national mix, with a 20.56%. In generation, it is gaining share and has already risen to total third place after wind and nuclear.
Despite the difficulties experienced in recent times such as Covid-19, supply chain problems or inflation, it is expected that in the coming years there will be exponential growth, what experts call solar boom. And according to a study by Mordor Intelligence, the Spanish solar energy market is expected to register a compound annual growth rate of more than 8% from 2024 to 2029.
If we analyze the investment, we can affirm that photovoltaic energy was the key driver of the fantastic results of renewable energies. A total of $239 million dollars was allocated to small and large-scale systems, according to Bloomberg NEF’s 2H 2023 Renewable Energy Investment Tracker study. Furthermore, we cannot forget that these are investments that will be favored by the European Union’s plan to fight climate change, which includes the commitment that by 2030, at least 27% of energy must come from clean sources.
This commitment to renewable energies is great news and, above all, a great success, since they are sustainable and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. From the point of view of a Venture Capital investor specialized in scientific and technological projects, renewables are more profitable in the medium and long term and are a sustainable investment option.
Over time, photovoltaics has been proven to be a technology that can generate savings and pay for itself effectively. Furthermore, in Spain you can now produce, use, save, sell and own energy.
On the other hand, it also generates local employment, promotes energy independence, reducing the need for fossil fuels from other countries, as we have experienced with the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Renewable energies also promote innovation and technological development, while facing new challenges, such as the recycling of solar panels or wind turbine blades. Currently, 85% has been recycled, but the blades are still very difficult pieces to recycle due to the chemical properties of the epoxy resin, used as a coating to reinforce the blades.
Whenever a new product or solution is launched on the market, we usually think about the success of that product, its market penetration, the units sold… But it is necessary to reflect on the entire life cycle of the technological product, the installation and withdrawal, in the alpha and the omega. It is useless to be guided by trends or fashions, without a scientific basis, a strategy that contemplates how this advance can help human beings, but also contemplating its drawbacks or problems that may arise. A good example would be uralite. Easy to produce, cheap, simple installation, but no thought was given to the consequences for people’s health, to taking care of the environment.
If we return to the case of solar panels, their average life is about 25-30 years as long as they have been checked and maintained in a timely manner. In 2030 we will have a real solar panel graveyard: nearly 8 million metric tons of panels out of service around the world. And in 2050, given the exponential implementation of the solar boom, this figure could reach 80 million.
Returning to solar panels, recycling is still taking its first steps. For example, only about 10% are recycled in the United States. This small figure finds its reason in the absence of regulations that force or encourage recycling and, especially, in recycling costs. Yes, it is cheaper to throw it away than to recycle it. However, we are not taking into account that the solar panel materials that are ‘retired’ each year could be worth an estimated two billion dollars by 2050.
One of the problems with recycling solar panels is that they are made with many pieces that are put together to be used in a single product. And another of the most important issues is that the owner of the panel is responsible for processing them at the end of their useful life.
There are still few companies dedicated to recycling solar panels, but we find two differentiated approaches: the extraction of materials such as silicon, silver and silicone and those that process them to obtain waste glass. This last option is not interesting in the medium and long term, since there is a huge number of panels to recycle and there is not as much demand for this byproduct.
The American First Solar is the only panel manufacturer with photovoltaic recycling capacity in the world. Its recycling strategy is not based on recovering high-mass materials, but rather allows the recovery of closed-loop semiconductors for use in new modules.
First Solar turns mining byproducts into a leading eco-efficient photovoltaic technology that uses less energy, water and semiconductor materials than other photovoltaic technologies. This maximizes material recovery at the end of its useful life. According to the company’s own studies, more than 90% of the materials in the modules will be recovered for reuse, providing high-quality secondary resources.
Another company that is advancing in recycling and reuse is the Spanish company ACCIONA Energía, which two years ago developed a circular solution to use recycled material from wind turbine blades in the construction of new solar parks. It replaced the steel frames with polymer ones to support solar panels, so the recycled materials from the wind turbines get a second life.
A sector that is taking its first steps to be sustainable and that represents a challenge that institutions, public and private companies must face together, since it will provide greater sustainability to the renewable ecosystem, and it is a very profitable sector.
