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A group of women in their 60s, living in the rural northern Ghanaian communities of Dupari and Zukpuri, have earned the nickname the Solar Grandmothers. According to a report from Recycling International, these women—including Salamatu Abukari and Memunatu Abudu—became the first solar engineers in their villages after completing a six-month technical training program in India supported by the United Nations.
Together, they have helped bring electricity to more than 200 households by installing solar panels, repairing systems, and training younger residents. Their work has replaced roughly 3,000 liters of kerosene each month, providing reliable power to communities that previously lived largely without it. The grandmothers were invited to travel to neighboring countries to promote the concept, which was warmly received and is now practiced by a younger generation. Hundreds of women are now active in similar roles.
The article notes that solar panels are powered by light, not heat, and that fires or other urgent cases causing permanent damage are rare. However, most panels in Europe perform best at around 25 degrees Celsius; once temperatures exceed that point, efficiency begins to decline. Depending on the technology, output can fall by between 0.2% and 0.5% for each additional degree Celsius. Engineers have anticipated this challenge, designing panels for extreme conditions in regions such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Nevada, using improved airflow, specialized coatings, and advanced materials.
Global solar photovoltaic capacity additions rose by about 12% in 2025, surpassing 600 gigawatts for the first time. Last year, solar accounted for more than three-quarters of all new renewable energy capacity installed worldwide. Some of the world’s largest solar developments operate in harsh environments, including massive desert-based projects in China’s Qinghai and Inner Mongolia, large-scale solar parks in India’s Rajasthan and Gujarat, giga-scale desert developments in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, utility-scale projects in California and Nevada, and the 1 GW Janauba solar complex in Brazil’s Minas Gerais.
At the end of a solar panel’s working life, new opportunities emerge. Dutch research institute TNO has unveiled a laser-based recycling process capable of recovering more than 99% of silver and high-grade silicon from panels. In the United States, Comstock Metals is developing a dedicated solar panel recycling facility in Ohio while expanding capacity in Nevada toward 100,000 tonnes annually, aiming for 100% material recovery. Researchers at Japan’s Kanazawa University have developed a process that recovers between 91% and 99% of lead, gold, and indium from next-generation perovskite solar cells.
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