The (green) elephant in the room

A look at where we are in terms of a solar panel recycling plan, here and across the country.

Solar panel installation on a sloped Nova Scotian roof. Photo courtesy of CanREA.

It has been called the 'big green elephant' of renewable energy — millions of solar panels being installed on rooftops and in solar farms around the world, providing both a valuable source of green power and a looming challenge: what to do with the growing number of solar panels when they reach the end of their life?

It's a question confronting countries that have over the last decade acted on the need to adopt more sustainable energy sources, with estimates suggesting 78 million metric tons of solar panel waste could be generated by 2050, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. And while that represents a fraction of global electronic waste today, the steady expansion of solar energy means that will grow exponentially.

In Canada alone, solar energy capacity grew 92 per cent from 2019 to 2024. There are roughly 220 major solar energy projects producing power across the country and almost 100,000 behind-the-metre installations, or small rooftop installs. And though solar is responsible for just one to two per cent of Canada's power supply, that is sure to grow with the ongoing uptake by consumers.

"What we're seeing now is that exponential growth, and it's happening clear across the country on all scales — we're getting big solar farms, we're getting the small stuff, customers are putting it in their properties. It's happening at all levels," says Phil McKay, senior director of distributed energy resources and grid integration at the Canadian Renewable Energy Association, or CanREA.

"We're in the middle of an energy transition, which also comes with all these mini transitions of what to do with all these materials."

Canada does not have a comprehensive national framework for solar panel recycling, reuse or disposal. Part of the problem is that most provinces do not classify solar panels as electronic waste, leading to inconsistent disposal practices.

McKay says there are also no full-scale commercial operations dedicated to solar panel recycling in the country yet, so panels that have run their course end up being shipped to the U.S. for recycling or disposal. They are also disposed of in landfills in Canada or may be left in storage or on site while consumers wait for facilities to come online.

That has led to growing calls for Canada to introduce meaningful recycling programs that could handle the range of valuable materials that go into manufacturing a solar panel, which typically has a lifespan of about 25 to 30 years.

Made up of photovoltaic cells that generate energy from the sun, the panels are a complex assembly of copper, aluminum, plastic, silicon, glass, and small amounts of cadmium and lead, much of which are valuable and could be recycled.

Rochelle Owen, an environmental consultant in Halifax, says there is an absence of legislation and frameworks for solar panel recycling and reuse.

"So, there is a bit of a gap. There is no industry stewardship program for solar panel reuse and recycling and there should be," she says.

"Requiring an extended producer responsibility program is now needed. There is a precedent for this with other products where recycling fees are charged at point of purchase, which is then used to run reuse and recycling programs. If the user doesn’t pay, then the taxpayer will. "

Interest in solar panel recycling is rising dramatically, according to the International Energy Association, which has seen sharp increases in publications (on the subject) and patents, and a growing number of recyclers, largely in Europe, that accept photovoltaic modules.

Mechanical recycling is the most common method and involves shredding panels to separate glass, metals, and silicon, according to a report by AZoCleantech, adding that several companies have cropped up in Europe to recycle solar panels, with some achieving 95 per cent glass and 80 per cent aluminum recovery rates. The EU also introduced the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive that requires manufacturers to finance the take-back and recycling of solar panels.

Owen and McKay also stress the importance of repairing or reusing panels that have been damaged or outpaced by newer models that are more efficient and can generate more electricity. Second-life applications are being explored to reuse older panels in lower-demand settings, like at a cottage or in developing countries.

In terms of degradation, McKay says the ability to convert solar power into electricity tends to degrade over time as the materials get older. He adds that it’s not so much the eventual cracking or obstruction of the glass that is the problem, but the conversion materials themselves — which “simply wear down.

"It's the circular economy principle that the renewable energy industry is trying to follow. It's green energy, so you've got to follow it right through cradle to grave," says McKay, adding that the glass can be stripped down to reuse just as it is.

"So, there are all kinds of different ways that are being experimented with, but again, it's down to the volumes. As we get higher volumes of this, the processes will be set up and the existing waste management folks will just have one more product to add to their list."

They both add that stockpiling end-of-life panels now until recycling facilities are in place would create a steady supply of material to be recycled.

Climate Stories Atlantic is an initiative of Climate Focus, a non-profit organization dedicated to covering stories about community-driven climate solutions.