Optical sorters removing impurities at SPR’s flagship North Carolina facility.
Looking back on the growth of solar in recent years, a big question arises: where will all the end-of-life (EOL) panels go when their time is up? Solar panel recycling isn’t just about the environment. It’s an opportunity to create a circular economy for our own industry, while helping U.S. manufacturers across sectors increase sustainability. For those interested in ensuring progress, it’s important to first have a good grasp on where solar recycling stands, how technologies like true recycling can help keep supply chains healthy and what to look for and avoid when choosing a recycling partner.
Panels are piling up faster than expected
By 2030, more than 1 million tons of panels will need recycling in the U.S., with that number rising to 10 million tons by 2050, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. However, our internal data shows those benchmarks could arrive even sooner.
On our own stomping grounds across North Carolina, Georgia and Texas, we’re seeing panels reach end-of-life much faster than anticipated. Although the general industry assumption is that panels have a 25- to 30-year lifespan, the truth seems to be a lot closer to 11 years. This is mostly due to large-scale repowers, technology upgrades, severe weather events and construction or O&M breakage (which currently accounts for a robust 65%).
For example, some projects are replacing older 200-W panels with newer 600- or 700-W technology long before failure, simply for higher efficiency. Others have lost entire arrays to hail or hurricanes. As a result, panels that still function are entering the recycling stream earlier than expected and in greater numbers.
Why true recycling is gaining steam
At SPR’s Texas plant, technicians prepare solar panels for 3D mapping as part of the company’s growing module database.
Historically, landfill disposal has been the cheapest option, around $2 to $5 per panel including transportation. However, as more states introduce landfill restrictions and recycling mandates — from North Carolina’s construction and demolition landfill ban to Texas’s new HB 3228 solar recycling requirement — it’s become clear the economic equation is shifting.
While true recycling — which means the full separation and clean recovery of materials like glass, aluminum, silicon and metals for reintroduction into the supply chain — currently costs more upfront, those costs are coming down quickly, with about a 42% decrease in the last 36 months. Why? First, steps forward in advanced, cost-efficient true recycling technology and the growth of larger scale recyclers are closing the gap, and fast. That pace of progress is something SPR sees firsthand every day. “If you visit one of our plants today and then come back six months later, you’ll see major changes,” I often tell visitors. “The technology is evolving that quickly.”
We’re also seeing the benefits of economies of scale, or the cost advantages that occur when facilities process in larger quantities. As the true recycling expands, those advantages are driving the cost per-panel down, making it highly cost competitive with landfilling.
Regionalization also matters. Unlike the EU, the U.S. can’t rely heavily on rail. Transportation can equal or exceed processing costs. It’s why SPR has built a distributed network of owned and operated facilities to minimize hauling distance, lower emissions and make recycling viable at scale.
Why incomplete recycling just doesn’t cut it
In contrast to true recycling, incomplete recycling leaves a lot on the table. Some operators remove only the aluminum frame (roughly 10% of a panel’s composition), while the remaining 90% ends up stockpiled or landfilled. It’s a form of misleading recycling practice, or greenwashing, that creates serious liability for asset owners, and damages our industry as a whole. Under federal Superfund law, the original owner of those panels can still be held responsible for cleanup if a recycler abandons them.
For example, more than 600,000 pounds of panels with only the frames removed were left behind at a Houston warehouse by an incomplete recycler, leaving the landlord to absorb cleanup and disposal costs under the watchful eye of the government. And this is no isolated incident.
These situations reveal a larger truth: when recycling isn’t done right, the risks extend far beyond compliance. Aside from legalities, there’s a potential for brand and reputational damage, project delays, and the loss of recoverable materials that could have reentered the supply chain. “The cheapest option upfront often becomes the most expensive down the road,” I often remind partners. “It only takes one bad recycler to turn a sustainability win into a compliance problem.”
What to look for when choosing a recycler
Securing the right recycling partner is vital to compliance and sustainability. Here are a few tips:
- Don’t sign that contract in haste. Visit the facility and make sure the recycler processes panels on-site rather than outsourcing to third-parties. Determine whether the recycler actually operates the facility themselves or if they are outsourcing your panels to a “partner” who may have very different permits, environmental standards and recycling expertise. Having layers between you and the actual processing makes it tough to verify all environmental and safety standards are being adhered to.
- Ask for paperwork that shows ALL materials are being recovered and going to the right places in a swift manner. Keep an eye out for outbound bills of lading that prove glass shipments are making it to verified consumers, or evidence that the right commodities have been cleanly separated and made ready to enter a manufacturing stream. You should always ask where the recycled glass is ultimately consumed, as it represents the majority of a solar panel’s weight. At SPR, we believe this material should remain in the domestic supply chain, not shipped halfway around the world, increasing carbon impact and offering no benefit to U.S. manufacturing.
- Finally, you’ll want a recycling partner that shows stability and has a clear road map. For example, is your candidate operating commercially or simply in pilot or test mode? Recyclers that claim they will “scale” in two or three years should raise major risk concerns, especially if those plans never materialize and your panels spend years sitting in storage on their site. On the other hand, true recycling means real infrastructure and repeatable, verifiable processes. As I often tell project owners, “If you can’t see glass leaving the site and going to a real consumer of glass, you’re probably not looking at recycling.” At SPR, we feel its imperative glass stays in the U.S. market and is not shipped overseas, and we accomplish just that.
The North Star: A circular, secure supply chain
A look inside a supersack of clean, recovered glass cullet produced by SPR’s glass processing line in Georgia.
True recycling is about much more than waste disposal. It’s about reducing the need for extraction and new manufacturing. And it represents a path for strengthening the foundation of our nation’s clean energy supply chain, while also strengthening sustainability across sectors. For example, aluminum and metals, like silver and copper, are going back into solar equipment, while glass is being used in other domestic industries. Moreover, every verified recycler reduces risk for project owners and keeps materials moving back into circulation, where they belong.
On the technology side, we can’t afford to slow down. As module designs evolve, recyclers must keep pace and ensure their processes maintain high recovery rates and material purity. It’s the only way true recycling delivers on its promises. And it’s why we’re already processing bifacial panels successfully at our North Carolina facility and are expanding those capabilities nationwide.
Sure, solar recycling in the U.S. is still young, but it’s maturing fast — and true recycling will be central to driving the speed and efficiency of renewable energy growth ahead.
