$1.1 million awarded to solar energy system recycling projects

The NSW government has awarded $1.1 million in funding to two projects under a scheme to encourage recycling of solar energy-related material, an issue that could generate as much as an estimated 71,000 tonnes per annum of waste by 2035.

A grant of $217,800 was awarded to Blue Tribe to help establish a “solar garden” application for decommissioned but usable solar panels, examining “a business model and testing methodology” for a secondary marketplace. 

Another grant of $935,750 was awarded to KGM Services (trading as The Solar Professionals) for collection, delamination and upcycling of solar cells as new building materials for glasshouses. This solution will be “designed, engineered, constructed and trialled in collaboration with Deakin University,” according to the NSW EPA, which is managing the Circular Solar trials.

Funding was awarded under Phase 1 of the Circular Solar program, with applications for Phase 2 grants to open next month. (These are only open to shortlisted Phase 1 applicants.)

The program is budgeted at $10 million in total.

“Now is the time to invest in developing systems for collecting, recycling and re-using so we can keep these valuable resources out of the tip and drive a productive circular economy,” said NSW environment minister Matt Kean.

According to NSW government estimates, waste from end-of-life solar energy generation and storage will be between 3,000 and 10,000 tonnes per annum in 2025, growing to 40,000 – 71,000 tonnes a decade later.

Picture: www.canberratimes.com.au

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