Time’s Up: Push For Solar Panel Stewardship Scheme

Only a small percentage of Australia’s decommissioned solar panels are being recycled. This isn’t through a lack of know-how, but a failure to act by successive governments according to a joint statement signed by dozens of groups.

Call For Government Action On Solar PV Waste

Led by the Smart Energy Council, a coalition of dozens of industry, business, union, community and environmental groups and local governments is calling on the Federal Government to establish a mandatory product stewardship scheme for solar panels during this parliamentary term. The Federal Government is also being urged to implement a funded pilot program in the interim that would inform scheme design and attract investment to ensure its success.

The joint statement claims it’s a $6.5 billion opportunity that could boost critical mineral resource security, spark innovation, new local industries, manufacturing and jobs.

Progress (Or Lack Thereof) To Date

Australia’s solar revolution has been nothing short of stunning. Millions of solar panels adorn rooftops throughout the country, not to mention the millions more installed at solar farms.

Good quality solar panels should last for decades, and they’ve been proven to in real-world conditions. Unfortunately not all solar panels are of good quality, and the service lives of many panels are being ended prematurely through system upgrades.

In 2021, then-Federal Minister for the Environment, Sussan Ley, put the solar industry on notice that an industry-led nationwide stewardship scheme design must be finalised by June 2022. At the time, the Clean Energy Council (CEC)¹ pushed back, stating it had worked to develop a comprehensive, nationwide plan over the previous twelve months, but the Federal Government had “walked away” from the partnership.

In the years since, there have been various proposals and opinions expressed by government departments. For example, this year the Productivity Commission signalled its support for establishing a co-regulatory product stewardship scheme for solar PV.

But still, no scheme.

“Time is up, and Australia’s renewable energy sector stands ready to act,” says the statement. “This is a resource solution, rather than a waste problem.”

What Materials Can Be Reclaimed From Solar Panels?

Just about everything:

• Glass
• Aluminium
• Silicon
• Copper
• Silver
• Junction/terminal box materials
• Cables
• Even the ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulant.

The aluminium frame and glass alone represent a major proportion of a solar panel’s weight — around 85%. But recovery of all materials that can be reclaimed is still costly and energy-intensive; so it’s mainly the glass and aluminium that get attention.

A Waste ‘Crisis’

While technology capable of 95%+ material recovery exists in Australia and several recycling/reclamation facilities have been established, another issue is logistics. The cost of transporting panels to a recycling facility can be greater than that of sending them to a local landfill. And even that undesirable outcome is no longer an option in some jurisdictions due to e-waste crackdowns.

To this point, the bulk of decommissioned modules have headed overseas for reuse in other countries, but current super-low prices for new solar panels is seeing that demand impacted.

According to the Smart Energy Council, installers and households are being forced into stockpiling panels, and illegal dumping incidents in regional and rural areas are increasing.

“There is an escalating solar PV panel waste crisis looming, with serious environmental and social impacts set to follow,” says the statement. “Panel decommissionings are set to double, and a recycling industry that has invested heavily on the promise of a national product stewardship scheme will stagnate and decline, with associated job losses, after a decade of policy inaction.”

Back in 2019, SolarQuotes’ resident fact-checker Ronald Brakels said there was no waste crisis on the horizon. Still, our habit of sweeping crap under the rug (landfill) isn’t the best way to deal with most forms of waste; and illegal dumping is abhorrent — not just in terms of environmental and aesthetic issues, but the clean-up cost.

So, the focus should be making solar panel recycling/materials reclamation as efficient and cost-effective as possible. And on that note, how does a container deposit- type scheme sound?