The Australian federal government has unveiled a groundbreaking $25 million pilot program aimed at establishing up to 100 collection sites nationwide to address the burgeoning issue of discarded rooftop solar panels and household batteries. This initiative, announced on Friday, follows a Productivity Commission report completed last August, which advocated for such a program to manage the increasing number of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels and the future challenge of end-of-life household batteries.
The initial focus of the program is on rooftop solar panels, a pressing issue as more than one-third of new installations in some states are now replacing existing systems. The government emphasizes that these panels contain valuable materials and strategic minerals like copper, aluminum, and silicon, which are crucial for the renewable energy transition. Additionally, they contain toxic elements that must not be left to pollute the environment, as highlighted in the Productivity Commission report.
“Only a small percentage of end-of-life solar panels are currently recovered for recycling, with most panels either stockpiled, dumped in landfill, or exported for re-use,” stated Environment Minister Murray Watt. “But we think solar panels are made up of materials that are too valuable to throw out. These materials can be repurposed to support the clean energy transition and help reduce what we send to landfill, improving our natural environment.”
Growing Need for Solar Panel Recycling
Currently, only 17% of rooftop solar panels are recycled, with the Productivity Commission identifying up to $7.3 billion in potential benefits from reduced waste and material reuse. The announcement has been met with approval from the Smart Energy Council (SEC), which warns that four million panels are decommissioned annually, yet only a fraction are recycled.
“We know the government wants to see that change and we support it – the industry stands ready to fix the problem,” remarked SEC Chief Executive John Grimes. Despite this support, establishing a robust recycling industry has proven challenging, with new companies and regulations struggling to curb the random dumping of used panels.
Challenges and Industry Struggles
Last year, the SEC led a delegation of renewable energy leaders warning that solar recycling companies were “on the brink,” advocating for a mandatory national PV reuse and recycling scheme. Unfortunately, this was insufficient to save Sircel, Australia’s largest e-waste recycler, which entered voluntary administration last October after launching a state-of-the-art PV panel processing facility in Parkes, NSW. The collapse of Reclaim PV, an Adelaide-based company, in 2023 further underscores the industry’s fragility.
According to the SEC, Sircel’s failure left only seven companies specializing in solar PV recycling, many of which are financially struggling. A significant barrier, the SEC notes, is the cost of transporting rooftop panels to recyclers. The creation of collection points is seen as a potential solution, offering a convenient and cost-effective disposal method for installers, thereby reducing a major obstacle for the recycling industry.
“Implementing a national stewardship scheme, which we hope and expect will follow the pilot, will trigger an urban-mining boom, and a new wave of smart energy investment in jobs and growth,” said Darren Johannesen, the head of sustainability at the SEC.
Looking Forward: A National Stewardship Scheme
The Productivity Commission has recommended the introduction of a stewardship scheme to facilitate design improvements in solar panels and make recycling financially viable for the industry. This scheme would also extend to electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the future.
“Currently, neither solar PV systems nor EV batteries are managed in a consistent or comprehensive way once they are considered to have reached their end of life,” the Productivity Commission report states. “In Australia, the majority of end-of-life PV systems are sent to landfill or discarded in shredder floc, with some illegally dumped on roadsides or in bushland.”
“Though some private recycling services exist in Australia (for example, Sircel, PV Industries, Ecoactiv), only 17% of solar panel components are recycled (specifically the aluminum frame and junction box), with the remaining 83% of (valuable) materials treated as waste. This is largely due to the cost barrier of recycling solar panels, which is approximately six times the cost of sending them to landfill.”
The proposed stewardship scheme is expected to deliver an estimated net economic benefit of $7.3 billion in present value terms. As Australia moves towards a more sustainable future, the success of this pilot program could pave the way for a comprehensive national recycling framework, significantly impacting the renewable energy landscape.
