- Solar panel recycling includes breaking the panels down into their individual constituents
- The parts and components sourced are then used to produce other objects
The solar panel recycling market was valued at $80.7 million in 2017. A report by PS Market Research has forecast this market to grow at 22 per cent CAGR till 2023.
PV waste volume in India, as per a report by Bridge to India, is estimated to grow to 200,000 tonnes by 2030 and around 1.8 million tonnes by 2050. India, as per the same report, is poorly positioned to handle PV waste as it doesn’t yet have a policy
guideline on the same.
Producing other objects from parts and components sourced
Solar panel recycling includes breaking the solar panels down into their individual constituents. These include aluminum, glass, and silicon, among others. The parts sourced are then used to manufacture other objects.
Thin-film, polycrystalline, and monocrystalline are the three types of PV panels used, among which the monocrystalline type account for the highest recycling rate. The reason behind this is that these see the highest adoption because of their superior material grade, greater efficiency, longer shelf life, relatively higher space efficiency, and excellent heat resistance.
During the forecast period, the salvaging and recycling rate of the other two types of panels would be higher than monocrystalline variants, owing to the rise in their usage. This hints at the rapid usage of the solar energy creation technology, which is due to the increasing awareness of people and governments on its various benefits.
A recent report highlighted that two out of top three solar module companies in India (for 2019) are based out of China. Risen, Waaree, and Znshine were top three module suppliers in India in 2019. Out of these three Risen and Znshine are headquartered in China. Similarly, Growatt, Sungrow, and Solis, top suppliers of rooftop solar inverters are based in China.
