Could solar panel recycling be a lucrative business opportunity?

With solar energy becoming increasingly popular and solar panels gracing the rooftops of more and more homes and other buildings, the question arises, what to do with photovoltaic panels after they end their useful lives? Typically a solar power system will last about 20 or more years before it needs to be replaced. Advances in technology may cut into that time as customers seek to upgrade.

Energy Matters reports that the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is setting up a system to recycle used solar panels once they need replacing. The idea is to extract useful materials from worn solar panels and make new ones. Thus, the approach is not only to avoid tossing PV panels into landfills but to reduce the cost of making new ones by using recycled materials.

A system of recycling solar panels is already in place in Europe. The United States may be able to create a process in which glass, aluminum, silicon, and other materials are extracted from the used panels to the tune of $5 billion by the year 2050.

The trick is to set up a process that all solar providers can use that will be cheap and easy enough to use that will make economic sense. Recycling solar panels will also be attractive to customers who happen to be environmentally conscious, in any case. A company that can claim that its product is made from primarily recycled materials should be able to grab more market share than those who build their solar panels from scratch.