Solar panels have a useful life of 30 years or more, so the solar installed today will last past 2050 and the solar installed in the early 2000s is almost ready for replacement.
The solar that’s ready to be replaced can be reused or refurbished to continue generating electricity or they may be recycled to recover the valuable glass, aluminum, copper, silver and semiconductor materials.
According to a U.S. Department of Energy study on the Solar Photovoltaics Supply Chain, over 90% of the components of a solar panel can be recycled, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory reports that solar that has reached end-of-life could reach 1 million metric tons by 2030 and up to 10 million metric tons by 2050.
These facts present significant opportunities for Pennsylvania to leverage its industrial legacy and take advantage of recently updated federal programs that seek to domesticate the solar supply chain.
Join us as we explore these opportunities, including federal resources available to support Pennsylvania’s position in the solar reuse and recycling industry as well as innovations and best practices for end-of-life management of solar.
We’ll be joined by We Recycle Solar and SolarRecycle.org to describe the current solar recycling and reuse landscape as well as emerging innovations in the solar recycling industry.
Click Here to register and for all the details.
The Pennsylvania Solar Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit effort to raise the awareness of the benefits of solar energy in Pennsylvania. Click Here to sign up for regular updates.
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[Posted: March 9, 2023] PA Environment Digest
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