Solar Power is a constantly growing industry in Australia. One in four homeowners and small business owners have rooftop solar, and large utility-scale installations are constantly being connected to the grid. But, you might ask, what are solar panels? How can they be recycled? What is the Solar Panel Recycling process in New South Wales, Australia? Let’s Discuss this.
Solar Panels
Solar Panels, which are also known as Photovoltaic panels are devices constructed with the main purpose of converting sunlight into electricity. They do this by converting the photons found in sunlight into electrical energy that can be used to power electrical loads. The Energy created by the heat and light of the sun is known as solar energy.
Solar Renewable Energy
The sun provides more than enough energy to meet the whole world’s energy needs, and unlike fossil fuels, it won’t run out anytime soon. As a renewable energy source, the only limitation of solar power is our ability to turn it into electricity in an efficient and cost-effective way. As most environmentally conscious consumers are aware, solar energy can deliver a range of significant benefits to small business owners, homeowners, and even the planet at large. The clean energy provided by solar energy helps to reduce the emissions of harmful gasses that are gotten while burning fossil fuels. This greatly impacts our environment positively and serves as a clean and renewable energy source.
The use of solar energy also helps in generating financial savings for homeowners and business owners by reducing their energy bills.
Solar Panel Recycling
As the number of consumers using solar energy increases greatly in Australia, so would the waste of solar panels increase and will need to be properly disposed of. Solar panels might become useless when they are destroyed by storms or fires, when they are spoilt during transportation or installation, or when they have reached their lifespan and no longer function properly. The next thing that comes to mind would be to throw it away in bins, and these actions are what lead to Landfills.
When these old or spoilt panels are left in landfills, the toxic chemicals from the lead and metals used in production could seep and enter the soil and groundwater. Over time, this would definitely lead to land pollution and become very hazardous to us.
Solar panel and battery system recycling targeted in NSW grant round
Where can I dispose of solar panels?
The most effective way to dispose of solar panels would be to get them recycled. There are various companies that you can contact to help take them off your hands, they would be taken to the main recycling plants where they’d undergo the recycling processes. Recycling is a great way of disposing of solar panels but you should bear in mind that there might be some additional costs required by whichever company you are contacting.
What is Solar Panel Recycling
Solar panel recycling is a process of recovering as many materials as can be gotten, from old or spoilt solar panels. Examples of such materials are aluminum, glass, silver, silicon, copper, plastic, etc.
Solar panels are largely recycled mainly by chemical, thermal, and mechanical processes. There are different methods to recycle solar panels, but the major steps include:
- Delamination
- Removal of the frame and junction-box
- Shredding into million tiny pieces and sorting the materials.
- Sorted materials are purified and returned to the industry for use in manufacturing new items.
How much does it cost to recycle a solar panel?
Stripping and sorting solar panels is an expensive process requiring specialized machinery. As the Australian solar panel recycling industry is still in its infancy, volumes are not large enough for the returns to cover costs.
This is the reason why most Australian solar panel recyclers charge a small fee per panel to get it recycled.
What percentage of a Solar panel is recyclable?
Some components of a solar panel can be recycled easier than others, for example, the frame and junction box. In general, up to 95% of a solar panel can be recycled. The most valuable parts that can be gotten through the recycling process are glass, aluminum frames, polymers, silicon, copper, and silver paste. The silver paste and aluminum frames are particularly valuable to obtain through this process. About 80% of crystalline silicon can also be recovered through a refined recycling process.
Solar Panel Recycling, New South Wales, Australia
Widoph Green is one of the solar panel recycling companies that has made the process of recycling your solar panels in New South Wales very easy. Their process of the collection goes thus
- Pack the used panels on pallets. But not more than 40 pcs on a pallet.
- If there is no pallet, pack them well on the floor where we can have clear access to them on arrival
- Take a photo and Send us a text message (0421232257) or
- Email us contact@widophgreen.com.au
- All you have to do is send us an email at contact@widophgreen.com.au informing us of the item, quantity, address, contact person name and number, days, and time for collection.
- We will respond and agree with you on the pick-up date and time that is convenient for you
- Then, our driver will come and pick up the solar panels.
English