A company in Arizona (USA) extracts natural resources from old solar panels that are going to be recycled.
Solar panels have become a key piece in the energy transition in a very short time.. Fossil fuels seem to be running out, even though China has found new oil deposits. Renewable energies are increasingly present in the world and solar energy does not stop growing. Now a company wants to recycle 99% of the components of older panels.
The energy coming from our star is not something new. Solar panels have been around for decades, although it is true that their design has been improved over the years. So much so that we are approaching the moment in which the first generation solar panels are being removed to be replaced. However, this is not a problem, because a company from Arizona (USA) will be in charge of recycling them.
Old solar panels have inaugurated “urban mining”
This company, We Recycle Solar, has publicly shown how old and out-of-service solar panels can be 99% recycled, thus extracting all the components that can be used again. This is great newssince many solar panels that were being removed in the United States were simply going to be stored as scrap metal.
We Recycle Solar wants to change the current trend of removing solar panels without any type of recycling. For users who are already changing their panels, since these have a useful life of 30 yearsthe Arizona company offers to remove the panels for free and a little money while they keep the devices.
Once in the company's open plants, the company's operators are in charge of gradually decomposing the entire plate to extract the natural resources such as silver, glass, copper, silicone and aluminum. Everything is recycled and everything is available again so that it can be used again somewhere else or to continue making more plates.
According to a recent article published in Interesting Engineeringthis type of recycling has received the unofficial name of “urban mining”, since like mining that is carried out with heavy machines, this process seeks to obtain mineral resources. Only in this case the experts know where to look and don't have to dig deep into the ground.
“…Utilities facing a large inventory of solar panels that have depreciated in value since their purchase, the most important next step is to determine a strategy.”
Read the full article here to determine an effective strategy for stored solar panels. pic.twitter.com/DJsiOwufH3
— We Recycle Solar (@werecyclesolar) December 4, 2023
The energy transition towards cleaner and more efficient forms is a very important step, but it is a step that cannot be taken without the proper recycling policy. What this American company is doing It's a major change in the industry.since otherwise every 30 years we would have a large amount of waste coming from solar farms.
In another order, and following the example of this recycling of solar panels, there are other companies that are doing the same work with car batteries. Which is also good news for us and for the planet.