Australia is on track to generate at least 50,000 tonnes of solar waste a year as the number of panels being retired surges faster than predicted, prompting calls to boost limited recycling facilities.
“The volume of end-of-life solar panels is expected to grow rapidly in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, with calls for immediate action by the industry to prevent landfilling,” the report says.Queensland’s waste is expected to lift from 15,390 tonnes this year to 27,053 tonnes by 2030. Over the same period, New South Wales will rise from 13,463 tonnes to 26,389 tonnes and Victoria from 9570 tonnes to 17,323 tonnes.
“The technical lifetime is 25 to 30 years, but we’re looking at a practice lifetime of 10 to 15 years,” she said. Specialists can achieve up to 90 per cent material recovery, according to Solar Victoria. Lotus Energy, based in Melbourne, has opened a facility that it says is the first in Australia to reuse 100 per cent of its recovered materials.
She said more than 600,000 solar systems had been installed in Victoria since 2001 and there was an “emerging problem to address when those solar panels are replaced”.