For many years people have been asking Same Sun about what we do with damaged modules or what happens to modules once they have completed their lifecycle. This has always been a concern for us but in our fourteen years there were so few modules that we dealt with that had been damaged or broken in any way that the issue was not pressing. And as solar panels typically last decades, we have yet to see them end their usefulness.

In our years of business we have installed tens of thousands of solar modules, and yet we only had 96 to recycle.  A number were unusable for a variety of reasons, e.g. scratched/damaged during delivery or installation, or subject to vandalism/other accidental damage after installation.  Most of the modules were within specs of the original performance warranties, but the solar client decided to have their existing array replaced, either because of new construction or they wanted a newer, higher-wattage system; in most of these cases they asked us to recycle their old modules.    

We knew our modules were never going to end up in a landfill. We have been paying for their storage until we could find our best option. We not only wanted to make sure these modules did not end up in a dump, but we also wanted all the usable material to be recycled. We researched a few options and chose Solar Panel Recycling in North Carolina.

Solar Panel Recycling can recycle nearly 100% of silicon mono-crystalline and poly-crystalline solar modules, which make up the majority of the modules in the US recycling stream. Thin-film and cadmium telluride modules are the second most common, but many solar recycling companies will not process modules containing hazardous materials such as cadmium telluride or lead. Most states don’t have a waste classification for solar modules, which means too many modules end up in landfills. However, SPR will take solar modules of any type and condition, and they are committed to safely recovering and recycling even hazardous materials, in addition to glass, aluminum, silicon, metals, and plastics.

It has been a laborious and somewhat costly job for Same Sun to meet the specifics of shipping the modules to SPR but worth it to make the smallest environmental impact.

By going solar, we and our clients have chosen to produce clean renewable energy. Recycling damaged modules or the modules that soon will be at the end of their lives, while reclaiming useful materials and safely disposing of hazardous ones, is the final step in our ongoing quest to be Part of the Solution.

Questions? Contact Us to learn more.