Solar Panel Recycling Market Set For Growth Amid Increasing Solar Panel Installations
The solar panel recycling market is anticipated to witness significant growth amid increasing need for recycling solar panel waste. Solar panels are used widely for generating electricity from sunlight. However, as solar panel lifespan reduces after 20–25 years, large amount of waste is generated that requires proper recycling and disposal. This drives demand for recycling of solar panels and their various components like glass, polymer, silicon, etc.
The global solar panel recycling market is estimated to be valued at US$ 298 Mn in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 19.% over the forecast period 2024–2031.
Solar panel recycling involves dismantling of decommissioned or end-of-life solar panels and recovering various materials like glass, silicon, aluminium, copper, etc. that can be further reused in new solar panel manufacturing. With rising adoption of solar energy across the world for grid-connected and off-grid applications, large volumes of solar panel waste is anticipated in coming years posing serious environmental hazard if not handled properly. This has boosted development of solar panel recycling infrastructure and recycling technology. Recycling helps recover over 80% of panel materials and reduces dependency on virgin materials extraction. It is also a more sustainable waste management approach compared to disposing panels in landfills.
Key Takeaways
Key players operating in the solar panel recycling market are Reclaim PV Recycling, Silcontel, Rinovasol, RecyclePV, ECS Refining, REMA PV Systems, Dongfas Group, Rinovasol Group, Envaris, Recycle Solar Technologies Limited, Experia Solution, CCL Recycling, PV Cycle, First Solar, Reclaim PV Recycling, Silcontel, Aurora Solar Recycling, Solarcycle Recycling, and PV Recycling. These players are focused on developing advanced recycling technologies and expanding their recycling facilities globally.
The solar panel recycling market offers significant opportunities such as rising electric vehicle adoption requiring recycling of lithium batteries. Solar panel manufacturers are collaborating with recyclers to set up closed loop recycling systems ensuring reused materials re-enter panel manufacturing. Growing focus on circular economy principles also promotes panel recycling over landfilling.
The expansion of solar panel installations globally will fuel waste generation necessitating widespread recycling infrastructure and solutions. Countries like China, Japan, European nations have enforced regulations around panel recycling and extended producer responsibility. This encourages global recycling companies to invest further in high growth recycling markets like United States, India and Australia.
Market Drivers
Rising solar panel installations — Growing emphasis on adopting clean and renewable energy coupled with falling solar power prices has significantly boosted installation of solar PV systems worldwide. As per IEA, global solar PV capacity installed annually grew from 102 GW in 2020 to 132 GW in 2021. This expansion will result in huge volumes of waste panels requiring proper recycling and treatment over the coming years.
Stringent regulations — Many geographies have enacted laws mandating recycling of solar panels at end-of-life. For example, EU’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive makes producers responsible for financing recycling. Such regulations are driving large scale recycling infrastructure development to comply.
Market Restraints
High recycling costs — Recycling solar panel waste requires capital intensive methods and technologies which increase operating costs. For example, processes to recover high purity silicon from panels can be expensive. This poses challenges for recyclers.
Lack of collection infrastructure — Absence of organized collection infrastructure in many regions constrain recycling volumes. It is difficult to efficiently aggregate waste panels generated across dispersed geographical areas.
Segment Analysis:
The solar panel recycling market is dominated by the silicon wafer sub segment. Over 70% of the retired solar panels today are made with silicon-based photovoltaic cells. Silicon wafers have been the dominating photovoltaic technology since the mid-20th century. Being the established technology, silicon wafer based PV panels constitute a major portion of the panels that are subjected to recycling and thus the silicon wafer sub segment leads the overall solar panel recycling market.
Global Analysis:
Europe region currently dominates the global solar panel recycling market with over 40% share. Countries like Germany, Netherlands and Belgium have become leaders in solar panel recycling due to established recycling facilities and policies supporting renewable energy. These countries also have high solar panel installation and usage rates which result in large volumes of waste panels. The Asia Pacific region is projected to be the fastest growing regional market during the forecast period. Emerging economies like China, India and Japan are increasingly adopting solar energy and solar installations are growing exponentially which will boost recycling needs in coming years. Established recycling players from Europe are also expanding operations in Asia Pacific region to leverage growing business opportunities. North America region is another major market for solar panel recycling supported by strong government policies pertaining to solar power and e-waste recycling in the United States and Canada.
*Note:
1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
About Author:
Ravina Pandya, Content Writer, has a strong foothold in the market research industry. She specializes in writing well-researched articles from different industries, including food and beverages, information and technology, healthcare, chemical and materials, etc. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravina-pandya-1a3984191)
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