The recent boom in the recognition of climate issues has brought a high demand for solar energy products, specifically solar panels. Though it is a better solution in terms of minimizing carbon dioxide, it is not the final solution to solving the overall human impact on the climate and environment.
The issue with the solar panel is that it is not the end product as it doesn’t have an infinite life. The average age of solar panels ranges between 25 – 30 years before their parts stop producing sufficient electricity to justify their usage. Once that line is crossed, almost all of the old solar panels are heading to landfill. Hence, many companies and investors are pouring resources into improving the recycling process of these panels.
The majority of the solar panels in the market currently contain the following key materials:
- Silicon as a semiconductor (the most important part)
- metal, usually silver
- glass
- plastic
Silver and silicon make up over half of the cost of solar panels, which are also the main target for recycling companies. Though more research is being put into solar panel constructions to make it cheaper as silver is considered a rare material, its usage in the solar panel is still considered crucial for its sturdiness. And the reselling of these extracted parts still doesn’t cover the recycling cost.
There are no public companies that work primarily in the recycling of these panels, but public solar panel producers are investing in their operation to make their panels more “recycle friendly”, such as First Solar (FSLR). And as an impact investor, society needs to demand that these companies make this a priority before the world’s landfills are filled with nothing but solar panels in 30 years.
The following non-public companies are a few of many emerging firms operating in solar panel recycling in the USA:
- Cascade Eco Minerals
- Cleanlites Recycling
- Echo Environmental
