The government of Albert is introducing a new recycling system for end-of-life solar panels.
Beginning October 1, the province will apply an environmental fee of CAN 14 to each new solar panel supplied in Alberta. The fee will not be applied retroactively to already-installed panels.
According to details on the government’s website, a typical residential installation of 20 panels would raise a fee of CAN 280, equivalent to less than 1.5% of the overall installation cost.
The fee will go towards ensuring money is available to collect, transport and recycle panels once they reach end of life. The provincial government has committed to working with the Alberta Recycling Management Authority and wider industry to build reuse and recycling capacity in Alberta as volumes of recycled panels increase.
Additional figures on the government’s website says Alberta has the second-largest installed solar capacity in Canada, with 95% of currently-installed panels expected to reach their end of life by 2045, generating as much as 72,700 tonnes of material.
The province says its solar panel recycling program is the first of its kind in North America.
Grant Hunter, Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, said the region is putting the system in place now to recover valuable materials, attract private investment and build a new recycling industry here in Alberta.
“Alberta has never been afraid to lead,” Hunter said. “We will not wait until mountains of dead solar panels are piling up in our landfills before acting.”
RJ Sigurdson, Alberta’s Minister of Affordability and Utilities, added that the program will protect taxpayers from future clean up costs.
Writing on LinkedIn, Radha Rajagopalan, Director of Policy for Alberta at the Canadian Renewable Energy Association, noted that the CAN 14 fee is more than five times the highest fee charged under Alberta’s electronics recycling program and more than three times the cost indicated by the association’s independent analysis.
“Alberta needs stable, predictable policy to attract investment and build the affordable, reliable electricity the province needs,” Rajagopalan commented. “Adding unnecessary costs to new renewable energy projects sends the wrong signal at a time when Alberta needs more electricity in the system.”
Alberta’s latest update says it is also ruling out solar panels being sent to landfill sites across the province. Research published earlier this year found recycling a utility-scale solar module in the United States currently costs between $15 and $45, while sending it to landfill costs between $1 and $5.
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