Decommissioned solar panels could be worth $15bn: Irena

Decommissioned solar panels could be worth up to $15 billion by 2050, according to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).

The report is the first ever projection of PV panel waste volumes. It found that PV could total 78 million tonnes globally by 2050. Recycling solar panels at the end of their 30-year life-span can offer a large stock of raw materials and other valuable components and the potential material influx could produce 2 billion new panels or be sold into global commodity markets.

Irena director general Adnan Amin said: “Global installed PV capacity reached 222GW at the end of 2015 and is expected to further rise to 4,500GW by 2050. With this tremendous capacity growth will come an increase in waste associated with the sector.

“This brings about new business opportunities to ‘close the loop’ for solar PV panels at the end of their lifetime. To seize these opportunities, however, preparations for the surge in end-of-life material should begin now.”

For countries within the European Union, PV panels fall under specific waste regulations which include specific collection, recovery and recycling targets. The EU directive requires all panel producers that supply to the EU market to finance the costs of collecting and recycling end-of-life panels.

The report follows another from Irena earlier this month that suggested the average costs for electricity generated by solar and wind technologies could decrease by between 26 and 59 per cent by 2025.