How the Solar Energy Industry can Build Circularity
Nearly 600 GW of solar capacity was installed in 2024 according to SolarPower Europe and the milestone of 2 TW installed was crossed late in the year.
Solar panels have a lifespan of roughly 30 years so by 2050, a majority of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in place in 2025 will no longer be operational.
The average global recycling rate for PV panels was estimated to be around 14% in 2021 according to the IEA.
When retired solar panels enter landfills, they can bring valuable minerals and metals with them.
If a solution for solar PV disposal isn't found – and scaled – this could lead to enormous amounts of waste.
Sonia Dunlop, CEO at the Global Solar Council, says: “Achieving the global target of tripling renewable energy capacity by the end of the decade is possible with solar, we need 1 TW of solar every year through 2030 and solar progress in more and more countries.
“That means action now to prepare for the future: smarter grids, faster permitting, bigger investments in emerging markets and serious workforce planning.”
Why solar panels become waste
Exposure to sunlight, weather and temperature fluctuations degrade solar panels over time.
According to the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory, panels can lose up to 0.8% efficiency each year on average.
After roughly 30 years, it becomes more cost effective to replace solar panels due to their declined energy output – particularly with significant advancements in the efficiency and footprint of solar panels happening regularly.
In 2000, the average conversion efficiency of panels was just more than 11% and in 2025 this has risen to roughly 20%.
The problems with solar PV disposal
The IEA and IRENA project that solar PV waste could reach 78 million tonnes by 2050 – roughly thirteen times the weight of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Sending solar panels to landfill means that lots of valuable, and potentially hazardous, minerals and metals are discarded, including:
- Silicon
- Silver
- Aluminium
- Copper
- Cadmium
Many of the materials in solar panels are already widely recycled, like glass and aluminium, but recycling of solar panels is limited by economic barriers, lack of infrastructure and weak policy enforcement in some regions according to the IEA.
The IEA and IRENA estimate that by 2030, only around 22-49% of solar panels will be recycled globally depending on policy and economic changes.
The same study shows that the technical potential value of materials recovered from end of life PV panels could exceed US$15bn.
IEA analysis shows that recycling could supply a significant amount of demand for materials like silver, silicon, copper and glass between 2040 and 2050.
This value represents a significant untapped business and resource opportunity if recycling is widely adopted.
First Solar’s PV recycling
American solar panel manufacturer First Solar says it is the only solar manufacturer with global in-house PV recycling capabilities and more than 15 years of experience operating these facilities on a worldwide and industrial scale.
It established the industry’s first global solar panel recycling programme in 2005 and has been investing in improvements ever since.
First Solar’s 2024 Sustainability Report says the company had 88,000 tonnes of nameplate annual recycling capacity at the end of 2023.
“As the Clean Energy Buyers Institute warned, if the solar manufacturing industry continues its business-as-usual approach by relying on cheap, subsidised coal electricity to produce polysilicon, it runs the risk of overtaking aluminum production in carbon intensity,” said Pat Buehler, Chief Product Officer at First Solar, on the report’s release.
“We must act now to change course by actively reducing the carbon footprint of solar technologies while also investing in high-value recycling that addresses the end-of-life management of decommissioned solar panels in a sustainable manner.
“Our industry must embody sustainability, not simply pay lip service to it.”
How SOLARCYCLE recycles panels
California startup SOLARCYCLE provides advanced solar recycling and has worked with a range of businesses including ENGIE, CanadianSolar, AES, EDP Renewables and Ørsted.
It aims to recover valuable materials from end of life solar panels, including silicon, copper, silver, aluminium and glass, and return them to the solar supply chain.
SOLARCYCLE has developed proprietary technology that can extract more than 95% of valuable materials in solar panels.
It is piloting a new “precycling” provision with ENGIE North America to divert an estimated 48 million pounds of material from landfill
“ENGIE’s precycling provision sets a new precedent for the utility-scale solar industry by proving that circular economy principles can be achieved without complex regulatory intervention and in a way that doesn’t require an up-front payment,” says Jesse Simons, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at SOLARCYCLE.
“We’re happy to work creatively with leaders like ENGIE to support their commitment to circularity, domestic energy and sustainability.”
