Featured, Local News, News, Top News Stories
September 8, 2026
SANDRA M STANWAY
Brooks Bulletin
As Alberta expands its recycling system under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) the province announced that solar panels must now be recycled – a process that will eventually take place at Sunset Renewable Asset Management located in the former pheasant hatchery near Tillebrook Provincial Park.
Alberta Recycling Management Authority (ARMA) first signalled the change in May when it released an information document outlining Canada’s first formal solar panel recycling program, built from a provincial pilot that ran from 2022 to 2025. The agency also briefed the solar industry on the new requirements.
Under the new rules, crystalline silicon (c-Si) and thin-film solar panels must be recycled, accompanied by a $14 environmental fee for all panels one square metre or larger used in residential, commercial, industrial and utility applications.
“As of Oct. 1 of this year, Alberta is banning solar panels from landfills,” said Grant Hunter, minister of environment and protected areas, during Thursday’s press conference at Sunset Renewables.
“More than 95 per cent of the solar panels currently installed in Alberta will reach their end of life by 2045. That represents 72,000 – almost 73,000 – tons of material that would otherwise take up space in our landfills.”
He added that landfill capacity is finite.
“We need to be smart about what we put in them. A decommissioned solar panel isn’t just waste. It contains valuable materials like glass, aluminum, silicon, silver and copper that can be recovered and used again.”
Sunset Renewables has been stockpiling solar panels for several years and has collected about 10,000 units. Each panel will be dismantled into usable components such as glass that will be mixed with cement for sidewalks in Ontario and aluminum that can be smelted and reused in automotive parts.
“There’s a lot of downstream applications for this material,” said Dan Carrocci, president of Sunset Renewables, a 16-year renewable energy industry veteran who has built solar, wind and battery projects across Canada.
The company is working with post secondary schools including the University of Ottawa which is working on extraction techniques and SAIT which is performing analytical chemistry and materials testing.
He said, “Developing the technology to dissect a solar panel is one thing. How do you deconstruct it? It’s a very challenging material. It’s laminated. It’s flat. It’s large. It’s e-waste, but it’s not e-waste. It’s its own animal,” Carrocci said.
The company has places to send the majority of the products removed from the panels including the glass and aluminum.
“We expect by the end of the year we’ll have a home for everything, every little part. So, right now we’re in 95 per cent recovery rate,” he said.
“We need responsible deployment. It’s essential. It’s the only way through a circular economy. That’s how renewable energy will thrive.”
Space is not an issue: the facility includes 120,000 square feet of indoor space in one building and another 170,000 square feet in a second.
“There is a large amount of infrastructure here and there’s a lot of potential for more infrastructure and we want to get future ready to make sure the infrastructure is in place before it becomes a problem. It’s a super smart thing to do,” Carrocci said.
We value your opinions about our publication, and are to here to help if you ever have problems finding what you need.
Сontact us: [email protected]
Local News
MSN News
Sports
Lifestyles
Editorials
Columns
Letters
© Brooks Bulletin Online
Contact
Archives
Subscribe
Terms of Service
FAQ
Classified Advertising

source