While the typical lifetime of a PV module is 25–30 years, some modules are decommissioned before reaching their end-of-life stage. PV modules may be removed from systems for various reasons. In some instances, they are uninstalled for business reasons, such as a change in property ownership or the closure of a site. In other cases, owners may decide to upgrade their modules for better efficiency. For early-retired modules that remain functional, reuse should be the first option to support a more circular and sustainable solar industry. This post provides an overview of the PV reuse market.
How Many PV Modules Are Reused Today?
- A 2021 study by PV CYCLE and imec/EnergyVille estimates that around fifteen companies are operating in the PV reuse market and that the estimated market size is between 500 and 600 MWp per year. However, the exact trade volume cannot be easily determined due to the lack of registration of PV site decommissioning and PV resale markets1.
- In a 2020 report on the North American PV market, CSA Group states that, although statistical data does not exist, expert interviews indicate that, on average, 25% of used modules are prepared for secondary use and export to overseas markets2.
How Many PV Modules Can Be Reused?
- In Queensland, Australia, test results by Reclaim PV Recycling indicated that over 31% of used PV modules could potentially be reused instead of recycled3.
- In North America, interviews conducted by the CSA Group suggest that up to 70% of used PV modules may have the potential for reuse or refurbishment2.
What Are the Steps to Reuse PV Modules?
Reusing PV modules requires less cost and involves fewer steps compared to recycling. A study by Arizona State University researchers found that among the three scenarios of PV module end-of-life management—PV module reuse, component extraction, and material extraction—PV module reuse yields the highest revenue while requiring the fewest processing procedures4.
The CSA Group suggests the following test procedure to determine the reusability of PV modules:
- Documentation of general module information (e.g., dimensions, type, number of cells, nominal electrical data, and serial number)
- Visual inspection (results to be documented on the data sheet)
- Electrical testing (results to be documented on the data sheet)
- Submission of the document to the buyer and, where needed, to authorities2
Are There Any Regulations or Standards to Promote the Reuse of PV Modules?
- In 2021, Sustainable Electronics Recycling International (SERI) began the process of adding PV modules to the R2 Standard, a global standard for repairing, reusing, and recycling used electronics developed by SERI5.
- In Japan, the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) published a guideline in 2021 to promote the proper reuse of PV modules. Though not mandatory, this guideline aims to standardize practices for module reuse, including testing, inspection, and documentation of used PV modules6.
- In Australia, Reclaim PV Recycling and the Circular PV Alliance signed a memorandum of understanding in May 2022 to co-develop standards and testing procedures to boost the reuse and resale of PV modules3.
Toward a Circular Economy for Solar Energy
Although still in its early stages, the PV module reuse market is crucial to achieving a circular economy. Regulations and standards specific to PV module reuse can encourage secondary use, while improved data collection can help identify the challenges and needs of the reuse market. To learn more about PV module end-of-life options and recycling, check out our other posts.
References
- PV CYCLE and Imec, “RE-USE of PV modules, challenges and opportunities of the circular economy.” https://pvcycle.be/wp-content/uploads/Press-Release-Reuse-08032021.pdf (accessed Jan. 24, 2023). ↩︎
- K. Wambach, K. Baumann, M. Seitz, B. Mertvoy, and B. Reinelt, “Photovoltaic (PV) Recycling, Reusing, and Decommissioning — Current Landscape and Opportunities for Standardization,” 2020. ↩︎
- Reclaim PV and Circular PV Alliance (CPVA), “Reclaim PV Recycling & Circular PV Alliance sign milestone MOU to drive the reuse and resale of solar panels and enhance the solar energy circular economy.” https://www.circularpv.com.au/_files/ugd/10e921_9d64c02665e94882acf262ad19676d60.pdf (accessed Jan. 24, 2023). ↩︎
- M. Tao et al., “Major challenges and opportunities in silicon solar module recycling,” Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, vol. 28, no. 10, pp. 1077–1088, Oct. 2020, doi: 10.1002/pip.3316. ↩︎
- SERI (Sustainable Electronics Recycling International), “R2 Solar Update.” https://sustainableelectronics.org/r2-solar-update/ (accessed Jan. 24, 2023). ↩︎
- Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan, “太陽電池モジュールの 適正なリユース促進ガイドライン,” 2021. ↩︎
