The Western Australian (WA) government is investing AUD 17.8 million in its 2026-27 state budget to build capacity for recycling solar panels and embedded batteries.
The program will make a disposal pathway accessible to communities for recycling batteries found in eRideables and household devices.
Through the Remade in WA initiative, the funds will be divided three ways: AUD 13 million to establish end-of-life solar panel collection and recycling pathways, AUD 3 million to rollout embedded battery collection at local government facilities, and AUD 1.8 million to administer ongoing delivery of both programs.
Western Australia Energy and Decarbonisation and Manufacturing Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said more solar panels and batteries are coming into use every day and we need systems to manage them at end-of-life, reducing waste and supporting a circular economy.
“As WA moves towards becoming a global clean energy powerhouse, this investment will ensure we are prepared for the future,” Sanderson said.
The announcement was made at Cyber Recycling, the state’s first solar panel recycling facility located in Canning Vale, 23 km south of Perth. The facility is able to receive more than 2,500 end-of-life solar panels for recycling, supported by the E-waste Infrastructure Grants Program.
Energy allocations
Further energy and decarbonisation allocations handed down in the May 7 May state budget announcement included:
National solar panel recycling pilot
On Jan. 16, the Australian government launched a AUD 24.7 million solar panel recycling pilot project seeking public feedback on a national plan to manage end-of-life solar panels and inform a product stewardship proposal for the government in the future.
The pilot aims to collect up to 250,000 panels from around 100 sites to gather national data on how to gather and recycle panels, including transport options.
From pv magazine Australia
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Your email address will not be published.
This website uses cookies to anonymously count visitor numbers. View our privacy policy.
The cookie settings on this website are set to “allow cookies” to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click “Accept” below then you are consenting to this.
Close
