SOLARCYCLE to Add 5 GW Solar Recycling Facility in Georgia (capacity to recover up to 99% of PV materials!)

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://www.solarcycle.us/press-releases/solarcycle-to-add-5gw-solar-recycling-facility-in-georgia

SOLARCYCLE® to Add 5 GW Solar Recycling Facility in Georgia
10/31/2024
Cedartown, Georgia (October 31, 2024) – SOLARCYCLE, an advanced technology-based solar recycling company, today announced a 5 gigawatt (GW) recycling facility in Cedartown Georgia, in partnership with Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp.

The 255,000 square foot facility will have the capacity to recycle and recover materials from 10 million solar panels per year, enough to process an estimated 25-30% of the U.S.’s retired solar panels in 2030. It will initially recycle 2 million solar panels per year and scale as the company meets growing market demand for end-of-life solar services and domestic solar supply.

The facility will be adjacent to SOLARCYCLE’s solar glass factory, announced in February. The glass factory will be the first in the U.S. to produce specialized glass for crystalline-silicon (c-Si) photovoltaics and will have the capacity to manufacture 5-6 GW of solar glass every year. SOLARCYCLE will employ more than 1250 full-time employees across both locations once the campus reaches full capacity.

…

The facility will debut SOLARCYCLE’s next generation recycling process which will have the capacity to recover up to 99% of PV materials and is optimized for bifacial C-Si panels. This state-of-the-art closed loop process is significantly more flexible and scalable than previous recycling solutions while achieving much higher value and mass recovery rates. Current recyclers are using the same technology platform for both monofacial and bifacial panels, which is extremely inefficient and leads to much lower quality recovered materials. Recovered materials from this recycling facility will be manufactured into new solar glass at the adjacent factory and sold directly back to American solar manufacturers to fill a critical gap in the country’s solar supply chain. The company has long-term partnerships with more than 70 of the nation’s largest energy companies to recycle and recover value from retired solar panels.

…

[jmbar2]

1. That's impressive!

Thanks for some welcome good news.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. This is great news!

The recycling component has been sadly missing. Now, what we need is legislation to require recycling.

[hueymahl]

3. Fantastic

A lot of the naysayers about solar use end-of-life problems to downplay solar's positive aspects. Love to see a market based solution shutting those people up!