<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/solar-recycling-machine-powers-up-as-key-export-market-closes-to-used-australian-panels/>
"Queensland’s first machine that can extract nearly 100 per cent of materials
from discarded solar panels has come online, just as a key market for
secondhand panel reuse collapses.
Pan Pacific unveiled its recycling technology in the Sunshine State on Monday
with the launch of its first production line that can recover up to 99 per cent
of the materials used in a panel, from silver through to silicon and glass.
The company is planning a second line at its Brisbane factory and an expansion
into north Queensland – but it needs end-of-life solar panels. The one line can
handle about 20,000 panels a month.
That feedstock is readily available, albeit still difficult to coordinate as
the supply chains to get decommissioned solar panels to recyclers are still in
their infancy.
Still, it’s a space that recyclers are keen to fill as the Queensland Solar
Stewardship Scheme, led by the Smart Energy Council (SEC), moves forward.
Despite an attempt three years ago by the SEC to lobby for a national version,
the Queensland scheme is the first coordinated attempt in Australia to build an
end-to-end solar panel recycling industry, from collecting decommissioned
panels to recycling to finding offtakers for the materials.
The Queensland government tipped more than $5 million into the pilot in April,
which promised to recycle 30,000 panels and figure out details such as how to
incentivise solar installers to take responsibility for old panels rather than
leaving them with residents to sort out."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
