New Photo voltaic Panel Recycling Facility Is Coming to Georgia

Solarcycle is opening a model new picture voltaic panel recycling facility in Cedartown, Georgia. Solarcycle / YouTube screenshot

Why you might perception us

Primarily based in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing prime quality, science-based content material materials on environmental factors, causes, and choices.

Solarcycle, a corporation coping with end-of-life picture voltaic panels, is opening a model new picture voltaic panel recycling facility in Cedartown, Georgia.

In accordance with the company, the upcoming 5-gigawatt facility will span 255,000 sq. toes and may lastly have the potential to recycle spherical 10 million outdated picture voltaic panels yearly, or as lots as 30% of the nation’s retired picture voltaic panels by 2030.

To start out out, the power will cope with recycling of spherical 2 million picture voltaic panels per 12 months and may scale as a lot as meet rising demand. It ought to take advantage of Solarcycle’s course of to recuperate as a lot as 99% of photovoltaic provides from retired panels and may be very useful for bifacial panels. In accordance with Solarcycle, many recycling facilities use the equivalent know-how to recycle monofacial and bifacial panels, leading to a a lot much less setting pleasant system that doesn’t recuperate as many high-quality, useful provides.

Together with opening the picture voltaic panel recycling facility, Solarcycle will perform a picture voltaic glass manufacturing facility subsequent door that may use the recycled and recovered provides from retired picture voltaic panels to make new picture voltaic glass. It is anticipated to be the first facility of its sort throughout the U.S. to manufacture glass for crystalline-silicon (c-Si) photovoltaics. The problem was made potential partly through funding from the Inflation Low cost Actbeneath which Solarcycle obtained $64 million in Qualifying Superior Vitality Mission Credit score, CleanTechnica reported.

“The model new recycling facility is move-in-ready and will be operational mid 2025. The adjoining glass manufacturing unit will be operational in 2026,” the company acknowledged in a press launch.

“By scaling recycling and picture voltaic glass manufacturing through a vertically built-in course of, we’re filling a essential gap in America’s picture voltaic present chain and shutting the loop for dwelling picture voltaic manufacturing,” acknowledged Suvi Sharma, CEO and co-founder of Solarcycle.

The manufacturing facility will use recovered provides from the recycled facility subsequent door to supply picture voltaic glass, then promote that picture voltaic glass to U.S.-based picture voltaic producers to boost the nation’s picture voltaic present chain, Solarcycle outlined. For instance, in October 2024, Solarcycle launched a partnership with producer Runergy Alabama to recycle the producer’s outdated panels and supply it with new picture voltaic glass made on the facilities in Georgia, Waste Dive reported.

Collectively, the two Solarcycle facilities will make use of spherical 1,250 full-time workers, consistent with Solarcycle.

“As Georgia continues to steer the nation in attracting jobs from rising industries, we’re grateful SOLARCYCLE is transferring up creation of these options in northwest Georgia, benefitting that complete space’s monetary system,” acknowledged Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. “I want to thank our native and state companions who made this accelerated improvement in Polk County potential, and I look ahead to its impression throughout the years to return.”

As CleanTechnica reported, the recycling facility is slated to begin operations by mid-2025. The picture voltaic glass manufacturing facility, which is anticipated to supply about 5 to 6 gigawatts of picture voltaic glass per 12 months, is anticipated to be operational by 2026.

Subscribe to get distinctive updates in our daily e-newsletter!