Arizona Company Works to Recycle Old Solar Panels
2023-12-31
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1The first generation of solar panels in use on homes and other buildings will soon be too old to work anymore.
2Owners will need to replace them.
3But, what can be done with the old equipment, aside from adding it to waste landfills?
4Adam Saghei in the U.S. state of Arizona hopes he has the answer.
5He is the leader of a business called We Recycle Solar.
6He said most solar panels last about 30 years.
7So many of the first panels put to use in America are reaching the end of their usefulness.
8Most will go to landfills, he said.
9However, his company, and a few others, are working to collect old panels and make them useful again.
10He said the process is part of what he called "the circular economy."
11"(Solar) is a sustainable form of energy; there needs to be a plan for the retirement of those assets," he said.
12For example, Saghei said many of the panels that fail only have a small problem.
13Often it can be easily fixed.
14Then, the repaired piece can be offered in new markets, often in other countries.
15Saghei said the company's engineers learned how to recover valuable material from the old solar panels.
16They can remove silver, copper, glass, and silicone from the broken panels.
17All the materials have market value.
18It took the engineers three years to perfect the materials recovery process, which Saghei called "urban mining."
19The company can process up to 7,500 solar panels every day at its center in Yuma.
20Saghei said they can recover up to 99 percent of the useful material from each panel.
21Meng Tao is a professor at Arizona State University and an expert on sustainable energy systems.
22He said solar panel installations will reach their highest numbers in about 20 years.
23At that point, he said, the number of new panels being produced will equal the number of old panels going out of service.
24The cost to recycle the old panels, however, may be too high.
25At that point, he said, it will be very easy for homeowners to decide to send their panels to a landfill.
26But the U.S. government, he said, should provide money for solar panel recycling projects as part of its environmental policies.
27That way, making a better choice will be easier for homeowners.
28Saghei said he hopes his company is getting into the business at the right time.
29Recovering the materials from old panels is costly work. He said it takes a lot of labor, time and energy.
30But he thinks taking out the valuable materials and sending them back into the supply chain is a winning idea.
31"These are markets that are growing," Saghei said.
32"What's exciting is we're at the forefront."
33I'm Dan Friedell.
1The first generation of solar panels in use on homes and other buildings will soon be too old to work anymore. Owners will need to replace them. 2But, what can be done with the old equipment, aside from adding it to waste landfills? 3Adam Saghei in the U.S. state of Arizona hopes he has the answer. 4He is the leader of a business called We Recycle Solar. 5He said most solar panels last about 30 years. So many of the first panels put to use in America are reaching the end of their usefulness. Most will go to landfills, he said. 6However, his company, and a few others, are working to collect old panels and make them useful again. 7He said the process is part of what he called "the circular economy." 8"(Solar) is a sustainable form of energy; there needs to be a plan for the retirement of those assets," he said. 9For example, Saghei said many of the panels that fail only have a small problem. Often it can be easily fixed. Then, the repaired piece can be offered in new markets, often in other countries. 10Saghei said the company's engineers learned how to recover valuable material from the old solar panels. They can remove silver, copper, glass, and silicone from the broken panels. All the materials have market value. 11It took the engineers three years to perfect the materials recovery process, which Saghei called "urban mining." 12The company can process up to 7,500 solar panels every day at its center in Yuma. Saghei said they can recover up to 99 percent of the useful material from each panel. 13Meng Tao is a professor at Arizona State University and an expert on sustainable energy systems. 14He said solar panel installations will reach their highest numbers in about 20 years. At that point, he said, the number of new panels being produced will equal the number of old panels going out of service. The cost to recycle the old panels, however, may be too high. 15At that point, he said, it will be very easy for homeowners to decide to send their panels to a landfill. But the U.S. government, he said, should provide money for solar panel recycling projects as part of its environmental policies. 16That way, making a better choice will be easier for homeowners. 17Saghei said he hopes his company is getting into the business at the right time. Recovering the materials from old panels is costly work. He said it takes a lot of labor, time and energy. 18But he thinks taking out the valuable materials and sending them back into the supply chain is a winning idea. 19"These are markets that are growing," Saghei said. "What's exciting is we're at the forefront." 20I'm Dan Friedell. 21Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by AFP. 22________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24sustainable-adj. used to describe something that can be produced without depleting a resource such as coal 25asset -n. an item that has value 26exciting -adj. pleasurable or interesting 27forefront-n. in first place or among the first to do something 28We want to hear from you. Are people working to recycle old solar panels where you live?