As the photovoltaic (PV) industry basks in its development boom, the disposal of decommissioned solar panels has become an unavoidable task for the sector. Far from being "PV waste", scrap solar panels can not only avoid environmental risks but also achieve resource recycling through professional shredding and recycling processes, laying a solid foundation for carbon neutrality goals and sustainable industrial development.
Scrap solar panels are rich in various high-value recyclable materials, including silicon, silver, copper, aluminum and photovoltaic glass. Through physical and green chemical processes such as shredding, sorting and purification, various components can be efficiently separated and recovered. Currently, the recovery rate of core materials such as glass and metals in the industry can reach over 96%, and the silicon wafer recovery rate is nearly 99%. The recycled silicon materials can be reused in the manufacturing of PV wafers; glass and aluminum frames can be remelted to produce new PV accessories or industrial products; precious metals like silver and copper can also be purified for reuse, forming a closed-loop cycle in the PV industry chain.
If scrap solar panels are discarded at will or disposed of crudely, trace amounts of lead, fluoropolymers and other components contained in them will seep into the soil and contaminate water bodies. The heavy metal pollution caused by a single improperly handled solar panel is equivalent to that of thousands of waste batteries. In contrast, shredding and recycling complies with national environmental standards throughout the whole process, with no excessive discharge of wastewater, waste gas or solid waste, eliminating the environmental hazards of decommissioned solar panels from the source and ensuring the green attribute of clean energy runs through the entire life cycle.
In terms of industrial value, shredding and recycling of solar panels greatly reduces the PV industry's dependence on primary resources. The energy consumption and cost of producing recycled silicon materials are much lower than those of primary materials, effectively reducing the overall production cost of PV products. Meanwhile, this industry aligns with the requirements of the national Extended Producer Responsibility system. The supporting recycling subsidy policies and industry standard systems are constantly improving, making scrap solar panel shredding and recycling a key track in the new energy circular economy.
A decommissioned solar panel can be "turned from waste into treasure" through shredding and recycling. This is not only the resource regeneration of an individual product, but also an important leap for the PV industry from "green power generation" to "green recycling", allowing the value of clean energy to extend beyond power generation to a win-win situation for both ecology and economy across the entire industrial chain.
