The Renewable Energy Alliance (or RE-Alliance) has joined a broad coalition of 60 organisations urging the Australian government to establish a mandatory scheme for solar panel recycling within this parliamentary term.
RE-Alliance, an independent not-for-profit working for more than a decade with regional communities at the centre of the shift to renewables, put its name to the joint statement after recently publishing a Framework for Action for industry and governments on retirement age renewables.
RE-Alliance National Director Andrew Bray said Australia has the solutions to recycle the majority of renewable technologies.
"Regional communities want assurances that renewable projects will be managed well at the end of their life. As well as being an important environmental consideration, materials reuse and recycling can provide new economic opportunities for local industries," Mr Bray said.
"Our recent deep dive into retirement age renewables shows these projects are highly recyclable. More than 95% of solar panels can be recovered and reused or recycled in Australia if the federal government delivers a system that includes all elements of the process: design, reuse, recycling and manufacturing."
Mr Bray said a scheme for solar recycling is one important aspect of the broader need for a circular economy across the renewable energy industry.
In Australia it has been estimated that recycling solar panel elements could supply 100% of the silver and aluminium needs for new panels by 2045, eliminating the need for extraction of new materials .
Andrew Bray said RE-Alliance strongly supports the joint call for the Australian government to establish a mandatory scheme for solar panel recycling within the current parliamentary term, along with further work to ensure comprehensive planning and circular economy systems for all renewables.
"This important work will provide much-needed certainty for regional communities and additional economic opportunities from renewables. Our Framework sets out the range of actions required to achieve this," he said.
