Tim Buckley, director of Climate Energy Finance, speaks to pv magazine about the current steep trajectory of solar module prices. He estimates that PV panels prices will end up dropping by 40% this year and predicts the closure of old technology and sub-scale solar manufacturing facilities, both in China and globally.
As an anecdote, I can tell that I’m still using my shattered solar panels. :)
(Normal people would not, of course.)
One broke during welding because a droplet of molten metal hit it - the hardened glass shattered all over. Another met with a flying plywood sheet during a storm - the plywood went right through with a corner and made a hole.
I use both panels on a wheelbarrow to pump water on the field during flood season. They’re perfect, nobody wants to steal them because they look like they got nuked. :D I worry about the wheelbarrow considerably more. :D
But yes, a recycling plan would be needed. Grinding them up and getting the aluminum back is not too hard, but how to separate the glass from the sealing silicone and doped silicon - I know some folks in Korea do it, but I don’t know how. :o
As an anecdote, I can tell that I’m still using my shattered solar panels. :)
(Normal people would not, of course.)
One broke during welding because a droplet of molten metal hit it - the hardened glass shattered all over. Another met with a flying plywood sheet during a storm - the plywood went right through with a corner and made a hole.
I use both panels on a wheelbarrow to pump water on the field during flood season. They’re perfect, nobody wants to steal them because they look like they got nuked. :D I worry about the wheelbarrow considerably more. :D
But yes, a recycling plan would be needed. Grinding them up and getting the aluminum back is not too hard, but how to separate the glass from the sealing silicone and doped silicon - I know some folks in Korea do it, but I don’t know how. :o