Incoming "Green Energy" technical debt - Solar Panel waste

[rustypup]

Solar panels are starting to die. What will we do with the megatons of toxic trash?

Most solar manufacturers claim their panels will last for about 25 years. That means the solar e-waste glut is coming.

grist.org

Whenever I challenge the green whackjobs on this, the answer has never been all that convincing...

Pretty soon we'd better have an answer or it'll just be adding to the ridiculous e-waste issue we have....

 

[Johnatan56]

Solar panels are starting to die. What will we do with the megatons of toxic trash?

Most solar manufacturers claim their panels will last for about 25 years. That means the solar e-waste glut is coming.

grist.org

Whenever I challenge the green whackjobs on this, the answer has never been all that convincing...

Pretty soon we'd better have an answer or it'll just be adding to the ridiculous e-waste issue we have....

Your title doesn't match the article title.

You're also misleading with that comment. A vast majority of solar panels is already recyclable, and that process will probably improve quite a bit. EU law requires it be recyclable.

Even your article states we just need to move into putting those processes in place.

Take a read through https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2017/10/the-opportunities-of-solar-panel-recycling

 

[rustypup]

GreenMatch are bib-wearing maniacs not qualified to handle a spade, let alone offer feelgood reporting on how this process will work.

It is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper to build from new so where is the funding for recovery going to come from? More taxation?

 

[Johnatan56]

GreenMatch are bib-wearing maniacs not qualified to handle a spade, let alone offer feelgood reporting on how this process will work.

It is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper to build from new so where is the funding for recovery going to come from? More taxation?

I'm assuming you're looking at ~2015 stuff then? That was when you had 80% or thereabouts reusability and about half the silicon was useless. Gone up quite a lot since then, around 90%, just still has the temp issue so is a bit more expensive.

Here this is modern https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b07434#
Set to remove the high temperature requirements for solar panel recycling and will then hit near 98% recovery of solar panels.
This reduces cost significantly as the temp requirement is what makes it expensive.

You're trying to argue against an industry that's just about to start, in 2/3 years you can come back and start arguing about it as by that time most of these processes will properly be in place.