On Friday afternoon, the Albanian government announced the deployment and support of a long-awaited national solar panel recycling pilot project worth millions.
How will the national solar panel recycling pilot project work?
The Albanian government will invest $24.7 million over three years to divert end-of-life solar panels from landfills to facilities that recover valuable materials such as copper, silver and aluminum. This initiative includes the establishment of up to 100 pilot collection points across the country.
An administrator for the pilot will soon be appointed; Collection services will begin as soon as possible thereafter.
The announcement contained very few details about how, what, when and where; but the Smart Energy Council (SEC) appears to have more information.
The SEC says the pilot will feed directly into the development of a permanent system. It will test different transport options, advise recycling companies on identifying and solving practical challenges and collect important national data on recycling costs in different regions.
According to the Smart Energy Council, the program is the result of dozens of organizations calling for a national and mandatory solar panel management system over the past year and is an essential next step in building successful pilot projects in Queensland.
“Through our collaboration, we have ensured that the federal government recognizes the urgent need for a sustainable, circular solution for discarded solar PV modules.”
Councilors welcome Pilot
Solar PV waste is becoming a growing headache for Australian municipalities as it takes up landfill space. where permitted. No wonder the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) welcomed the announcement.
“Councils play a crucial role at the forefront of waste and resource recovery, managing a large number of waste disposal facilities across the country,” said ALGA President Matt Burnett. “Any national approach to reducing the amount of waste ending up in landfill or dumps will help address the current unsustainable pressures on communities.”
Productivity Commission promotes PV recycling options
Coinciding with the announcement, a report from the Productivity Commission (PC) was also released on Friday, examining opportunities in Australia’s circular economy to improve material productivity and efficiency while benefiting the economy and the environment.
One of the focus topics in the report is waste from electronic products such as solar PV systems and electric vehicle batteries, which pose challenges for resource recovery and environmental management.
“Australia’s solar boom is expected to result in an 18-fold increase in PV waste from 2019 to 2030 as existing stocks reach the end of their useful life,” the commission explains. “Due to their bulky nature and the high costs associated with recycling (including special handling and infrastructure) or proper disposal, waste from solar PV systems and electric vehicle batteries is often stored or illegally dumped or exported to other countries.”
But it’s not just modules reaching the end of their expected lifespan that are a cause for concern. Poor quality modules fail early, and many with many years of energy production remaining are discarded as part of system upgrades.
The corresponding recommendation from the Productivity Commission:
“Recommendation 5.2
Establish a national product stewardship system for small photovoltaic (PV) solar systems and consider a national product stewardship system for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.”
According to a joint ministerial press release, only 17 percent of solar modules are currently recycled. An increase could bring benefits of up to $7.3 billion through reduced waste and reuse of materials.
“By converting old solar panels into valuable resources, this program will create more local jobs and enable a made-in-Australia future, leading to greater investment in our booming solar industry,” said Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen.
Finally: Progress in recycling PV modules
In 2021, the solar industry was advised by the then Morrison government that an industry-led national draft stewardship plan must be completed by June 2022. The Clean Energy Council (CEC) challenged the government, saying it had been working to develop a comprehensive, nationwide plan over the past year but that the federal government had “walked away” from working together.
Since then there have been various proposals and statements from government bodies regarding a national system; but no real action on their part – until now.
In this context, we recently reported that researchers at the University of Newcastle have developed a more efficient method for recovering high-quality silver from end-of-life solar panels.
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