Used solar panels should be banned from all Australian landfill sites while the government develops a scheme to reuse and recycle the technology, an inquiry has been told.
With the right scheme in place, Australia could recover billions of dollars in critical minerals and lead the world in another part of the renewable energy transition, experts said.
Representatives from recycling, metals, engineering and local government groups issued the advice to a parliamentary inquiry on Monday that is examining how to manage end-of-life solar panels.
The hearing comes months after the federal government launched a $24.7 million pilot program to test solar panel recycling, and after research estimated Australia could produce more than 91,000 tonnes of panel waste by 2030.
Solar panels, which typically work for 25 years, contain valuable materials including silver, copper, aluminium, silicon, indium and germanium.
Extracting silver from used panels could recover $7.3 billion worth of materials alone if they could be collected and transported, Environmental Solar Recycling Australia co-founder Chris Mohen told the inquiry.
But recycling solar panels currently came at a cost to the owner, he said, which meant most ended up in landfill sites.
The issue could be reversed with a national ban on dumping used solar panels, like the one introduced to Victoria in 2019, he said.
”On the ground, it looks like good-intentioned installers and asset holders (are) caught between wanting to do the right thing and a system that makes the cheapest option skip bin or landfill,” Mr Mohen said.
”If we can have landfill bans like they have in Victoria, if that is across the board around Australia … that really evens the playing field for all recyclers (and) reuse companies.”
A national recycling scheme for used solar panels could be funded by adding a fee of $10 to $20 to each panel at installation, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering president Dr Cathy Foley said.
Australia could lead the world in another aspect of solar energy if it launched a scheme within the next two to five years, academy acting chief executive Peter Derbyshire said.
”If we can reuse, repair, recondition and recycle our old solar panels, we can unlock not just the value of their minerals, but a new industry and circular economy,” he said.
”It’s a second chance for us to become a solar powerhouse.”
Standards for testing and certifying solar panels should be prioritised as part of any scheme, to ensure the technology was not just used for parts but used for as long as possible, Circular PV Alliance co-founder Megan Jones said.
”It’s often overlooked in this discussion about a circular economy,” she said.
”Everyone skips to recycling but we see there’s a real opportunity for reuse.”
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