Reducing waste from the rapidly growing solar energy industry will be the focus of a new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiative targeting retired solar panels.   

The United States is one of the leading proponents of solar energy, yet conversely has a poor record of dealing with obsolete solar panels.   

Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels have a 30-year lifespan, are 95% recyclable, and contain 99% non-hazardous materials. However, processing costs in the United States mean most old panels currently end up in landfill sites.   

The DOE wants to kick-start an industry-wide change by studying the potential recycling chain and working on the bottom line of the price of recycling solar panels. Design and materials used will also be considered. 

Solar Energy Growth Brings Challenges 

Massive expansion in the solar energy industry will drive the amount of waste created in the coming decades.   

China, India, the United States, and Japan will lead global utility-scale solar production. The U.S. is projected to have the second-highest amount of solar panels to dispose of globally, behind China. By 2050, solar panels could form 10% of the record global e-waste added in 2014.  

In 2021, solar energy accounted for 2.8% of U.S. electricity production, some 115 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh). Photovoltaic is responsible for 97.4% of that, with solar thermal making up the rest.  

However, President Joe Biden wants to 100% decarbonize the U.S. national power grid by 2035, with solar at its heart. This year, almost half of all new U.S. utility-scale electricity generation capacity will come from new solar panels. The majority will come online in Texas and California.  

The government’s plans mean solar energy could provide up to 40% of United States electricity by 2035, bringing 1.5 million jobs, according to the DOE. But with growth comes costs, too. 

The High Price of Recycling and Not Recycling Solar Panels 

A typical PV solar panel has a 30-year lifespan. Fewer than 10% of panels are currently recycled in the U.S., compared to recycling rates as high as 95% in some European countries.   

In the United States, PV solar panels currently cost between $15-$45 to recycle per module. Dumping panels in a non-hazardous landfill can now set companies back less than $1 per panel, and up to $5 per panel in hazardous waste landfills.   

The Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) recently announced a target to reduce solar panel recycling costs to $3 per panel by 2030. That would make recycling panels economically viable in the U.S. for the first time, as well as better use precious resources. 

Millions of Tons of Materials Going to Waste 

Crystalline silicon is one energy-intensive material vital for solar panel production, accounting for half its carbon footprint. Recycling this silicon, or finding an alternative for future panels, is among the solutions being considered.   

There could be as much as 80 million metric tons of PV-module waste globally by 2050. The U.S. has no current standard on recycling the valuable and precious materials they contain nor how to dispose of its toxic components like tin and lead.   

There would be enough raw materials for 60 million new solar panels if the industry recycled all the raw materials from newly obsolete PV panels between now and 2030. By 2050, that recoverable figure rises to two billion panels or $15 billion worth of materials in the U.S. alone. 

Recover, Reuse, and Recycle Are the Watchwords 

Solar energy will form a large part of the world’s drive to produce clean electricity in the face of climate change and global warming. The carbon footprint of making, using, and disposing of solar panels requires immediate and pressing attention.   

Kelly Speakes-Backman, principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, said: “As we accelerate deployment of photovoltaic systems, we must also recognize the pressing need to address end-of-life for the materials in a sustainable way.   

“We are committed to ensuring that the recovery, reuse, recycling, and disposal of these systems and their components are accessible, low-cost, and have minimal environmental impact.”   

The DOE study needs to make the bottom line more attractive as quickly as possible so that businesses and governments rise to the looming challenge of obsolete solar panels. 

Opinion writer: Tom Shearman

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