First Solar has received the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) National Award for Environmental Best Practices 2026 in the Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy category for its solar module recycling project. The award recognises the company’s work in recovering semiconductor materials from solar photovoltaic (PV) modules and reusing them in new modules.
The project, titled Solar Module Recycling with Closed-Loop Semiconductor Recovery: Enabling Circular Domestic PV Manufacturing, operates at First Solar’s manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. It integrates recycling into regular manufacturing operations and focuses on recovering valuable materials rather than relying on conventional bulk recycling methods.
According to the project data submitted for the award, First Solar had diverted approximately 13,100 metric tonnes of PV waste from landfills as of FY2026. The recycling facility has a material recovery rate of around 95% and a designed annual processing capacity of 21,900 metric tonnes.
The process involves controlled shredding, material separation, film removal and metals precipitation. Recovered glass is sent for use in glass manufacturing, while semiconductor materials undergo further separation and refining before being reused in new First Solar modules.
The closed-loop process is designed to retain the value of materials recovered from discarded solar modules, reduce landfill waste and limit dependence on virgin resources. It also provides traceable pathways for recovered materials, supporting domestic manufacturing and resource efficiency.
The company has integrated the recycling process with its manufacturing operations through standard procedures, environmental, health and safety controls, quality systems and performance monitoring. Teams from manufacturing, quality, environmental health and safety, and recycling work together to manage materials and monitor recovery outcomes.
N Muthusezhiyan, Executive Director – Green Manufacturing at CII Green Business Centre, said its’s project demonstrated how circularity could be incorporated into manufacturing while delivering measurable environmental benefits. He said recovering and reusing semiconductor materials from solar PV modules helped reduce landfill waste and dependence on virgin resources. He added that such industry initiatives could support resource efficiency, domestic manufacturing and the development of a more sustainable solar value chain in India.
The project also provides a model that could be adopted more widely across the solar PV industry. The company is sharing operational practices and experience through industry forums and knowledge-sharing initiatives to support discussions on responsible module recycling and circular manufacturing.
The CII National Award for Environmental Best Practices recognises industry initiatives that deliver practical environmental improvements. The recognition highlights the role of material recovery, recycling technology and integration with manufacturing in improving resource efficiency across the solar industry. The initiative is intended to strengthen the domestic PV supply chain by retaining the value of recovered materials and reducing waste generated during solar module manufacturing and disposal.
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