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An Inconvenient Truth: Solar Panels Wear Out and They’re a Potent Source of Hazardous Waste

April 3, 2020

Manufacturers of solar panels typically warrantee them to retain 80% of their efficiency for about 20 years or so. Thinking linearly, that means they’re considered still within design specs if they lose 1% of their efficiency per year.

As of last May, according to the latest data, the number of solar installations in the United States officially surpassed two million: something that began 40 years ago. So doing the math, many “legacy” solar arrays might be operating at 60% of their out-of-the-box performance.

That means, depending on age, your facility’s rooftop solar panels might be displacing much less fossil-fueled energy than advertised, being good only for virtue-signaling: the social equivalence of driving a Humvee while parking a dead Prius in your driveway.

This dilemma is especially virulent in California, Oregon, and Washington, as those states started adopting solar energy earliest in the game—suggesting that eco-virtue mightn’t necessarily be its own reward.

So how Earth-friendly are solar panels?

You decide. Consider some of these data cited in an article by Jack Dini, who’s author of the book, Challenging Environmental Mythology:

Meanwhile in California…

California passed SB 489 in 2015 to provide guidance for the safe disposal of defunct solar panels, designating them a “universal waste.”

This is a waste category that includes common household and business throwaways like old TVs and dead batteries.

Universal waste cannot be trashed or landfilled in California, but no guidelines were given about how to recycle solar panels.

The EPA, of course, has its own dictates and predilections about universal waste.

So as in all things concerning the EPA in general and California in specific— it’s crucial to get expert advice. For help call (888) 681-8923.

“Solar panels create 300 times more toxic waste per unit of energy than do nuclear power plants. If solar and nuclear produce the same amount of electricity over the next 25 years that nuclear produced in 2016, and the wastes are stacked on football fields, the nuclear waste would reach the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa (53 meters), while the solar waste would reach the height of two Mt. Everests (16 km).”

(On the other hand, Chernobyl didn’t happen because an array of solar panels suddenly blew up. Just sayin.’)

There’s also this to consider per Mr. Dini:

“Contrary to previous assumptions, pollutants such as lead or carcinogenic cadmium can be almost completely washed out of the fragments of solar modules over a period of several months by rainwater.”

So what to do?

We don’t know whether you should continue using solar panels or not. We do believe, however, that your old ones shouldn’t simply be dumped into a landfill—which is what’s happening now.

Solar panel hazardous waste hasn’t been a hot-button issue because there hasn’t been enough volume to trip the usual triggers, which is why there’s no dedicated national program or requirement for their proper recycling.

But that’s changing for the reasons cited above.

Retro liability?

In a nod to environmental concerns, many owners of spent solar panels are already having them recycled rather than landfilled—and thereby harvesting residual value from old equipment that would otherwise be thrown away.

You can get expert advice here to help you with that. Call us at (888) 681-8923.

However, many green-minded managers and entrepreneurs are simply warehousing damaged or old panels until a more earth-friendly solution is forthcoming: a laudable tactic that’s nonetheless fraught with its own dangers.

Remember: your weary solar panels contain arsenic, cadmium, silicon, copper, and everyone’s favorite—lead. So you probably should get some expert advice before piling them up somewhere onsite.

Per EPA parlance, you’re responsible for the storage of any toxic waste you generate from “cradle to grave.” And what’s just frowned upon right now might become criminally litigious later.

What does solar-panel recycling entail?

Basically, there are two kinds of solar panels. Each must be recycled in its own peculiar way, and neither is anything you would like to try at home.

  • Silicon-based panels are more common. Recycling requires disassembly in order to separate aluminum from glass. Treatment of what remains begins in a thermal processing unit where it’s cooked to 500°C (932° F)—and that’s just the start.
  • Thin-film solar panels require even more radical processing. They’re shredded and mechanically hammered to ensure that no one particle is bigger than 4to5mm. Both solids and liquids remain, which require separation and further exotic treatments.

You need a comprehensive solution

Hazardous Waste Experts is a proven comprehensive source for manufacturers, installers, and solar contractors who require solar-panel disposal and recycling.

Our eco-friendly solar-panel recycling protocols will allow you to realize the residual value of your spent solar equipment—including inverters, batteries, and mounting racks—while simultaneously ensuring that you’re in compliance with all appliable state and federal environmental regulations.

That’s better business than just throwing these residual assets away—and a lot more Earth-friendly.

Call Hazardous Waste Experts today at (888) 681-8923.

Disposal of hazardous waste doesn’t have to be painful.