SUSTAINABLE RETURNS
Recycling ‘end-of-life’ solar panels, wind turbines, is about to be climate tech’s big waste business
PUBLISHED SAT, MAY 13 20239:30 AM EDTUPDATED MON, MAY 15 20239:49 AM EDT
As the Biden administration pushes for more wind power and solar energy, renewable energy industries will soon generate tons of waste.
A wind turbine is recyclable, from the steel tower to the composite blades, typically 170 feet long, but most ends up being thrown away, a waste total that will reach a cumulative mass of 2.2 million metric tons by 2050.
Currently, about 90% of end-of-life or defective solar panels also end up in landfills, largely because it costs far less to dump them than to recycle them.
“We have done a phenomenal job making solar efficient and cost-effective, but really have not done anything yet on making it circular and dealing with the end-of-life,” says Solarcycle CEO Suvi Sharma.
The growing importance of wind and solar energy to the U.S. power grid, and the rise of electric vehicles, are all key to the nation’s growing need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, lower carbon emissions and mitigate climate change.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/13/recycling-end-of-life-solar-panel-wind-turbine-is-big-waste-business.html
