Solar energy has many benefits for homeowners, such as detaching them from the power grid and lowering the costs of running appliances with the infinite power of sunlight. However, it does have some downsides once it reaches mass adoption. Solar panels haves a lifespan of over two decades, so a huge influx of dysfunctional solar panels requires special recycling facilities that can reduce the waste volume before it reaches landfills.
German researchers in the Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics announced that they effectively reused aged silicon from old solar panels into developing new ones with the same performance level. In addition, they mentioned that regardless of which brand they sourced the silicon, it effectively worked as they intended.
This progress opens up many doors in scaling the massive issue of solar panels: recycling. Millions of solar panels are manufactured yearly and installed in residential, commercial, and industrial properties to offset the potential energy problems and costs involved. Without a proper way to recycle and reuse solar panels, it can become a global hazard rather than its energy and environmental solution.
German researchers said this week that they have taken silicon from discarded solar panels and recycled it for use in new ones.
This is a positive step for dealing with the coming mountain of waste from solar power, but it’s just one part of dealing with a complicated challenge.
The Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP in Freiburg, Germany, said that its researchers were part of a team that produced solar cells from 100 percent recycled silicon. Cells are the little squares, usually blue, that you see arranged in a tile pattern on solar panels. They are the parts that capture the sun’s energy to convert it to electricity, and silicon is their essential material.
Peter Dold, project manager at Fraunhofer CSP, said the process can work for recycling all crystalline silicon solar parts, regardless of the manufacturer. This is an important detail because one of the challenges in recycling solar components is that the process sometimes varies to account for differences in the manufacturer.
“It was important for us to develop a scalable process that makes economic sense,” Dold said in a statement.
To get an idea of the significance of this announcement, I reached out to Meng Tao of Arizona State University, a leading authority on developing systems to recycle solar components.
“I applaud their progress,” he said about the work at the Fraunhofer Center.
And then he explained why recycling silicon is only a small part of dealing with solar power waste.
Solar power is booming, with millions of metric tons of solar panels being produced each year. A panel has a projected lifespan of about 25 years, which means that today’s new solar farms will go out of service in the late 2040s.
The International Renewable Energy Agency said in a 2016 report that the waste from solar panels was on track to go from 250,000 metric tons in 2016 to a cumulative total of 78 million tons by 2050. The United States would have 10 million tons that year.
Since that report, the growth of solar power has accelerated, so the 2050 numbers are likely going to be even higher, Tao said. (Continue reading here to learn more)
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