Rob Gell AM
Limiting factors in the solar supply chain
Concern is being raised again about the ‘solar waste problem’[1]. This will continue to be a problem for as long as we refer to end-of-life solar panels as waste[2] and consider that the biggest issue we face is the need to avoid putting old panels into landfills.
It is essential that we adopt circularity thinking to understand how the recovery of materials from end-of-life panels is an opportunity for the next generation of Australian manufacturers participating in the energy transition.
Solar photovoltaic panels have been on the Australian Government’s Priority Product List for product stewardship action and potential regulation since 2016-2017[3]. This is now critical but there’re certainly problems with the way the Federal Government is moving on e-stewardship. Perhaps functioning EPR schemes from Europe or the new one for batteries just approved in Colorado[4] might provide guidance.
There’re no ‘circularity drivers’ in current thinking and a poor understanding of the solar supply chain in the ‘Future Made in Australia’ context. The players in the ‘recycling’ game are all waiting for government handouts because their individual processing procedures aren’t economic. There are only five main components in solar panels. Silicon is now on Australia’s critical minerals list, aluminium and copper are designated strategic minerals. None should be exported as ‘waste’. The Federal Government has been unaware of aluminium remelting facilities in Australia that could provide very low Scope 3 aluminium for Australian manufacturers of value for climate reporting requirements.
At the launch of Sundrive’s panel manufacturing facility at Kurnell in 2023, ARENA CEO Darren Miller explained that Australia will need 2 billion panels to achieve our Net Zero target. He was probably working on twenty-five year panel life span so you can double that number. UNEP would explain that there’s not enough sand in the world for construction, today. Where will we find the sand for solar glass for Australia’s panels unless we recover it from end-of-life panels and manufacture our own solar glass?
As Germany is now exploring this should be done using hydrogen for heat but we’ve just shelved a $14 billion green hydrogen export project, despite almost $90 million in federal government funding commitments[5]. The same applies to silicon. We’ve opted to dig up more quartz in the Australian Silicon Action Plan rather than invest in recovering silicon.
Surely, we need to revert to the principles outlined in the Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group’s Final Report, The Circular Advantage, to integrate decision-making and develop a better understanding of the critical limiting factors in the solar supply chain.
Rob Gell AM
President
Royal Society of Victoria
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[1] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-12/solar-waste-problem-looms-after-rooftop-panel-boom/105402628
[2] https://breakthroughvictoria.com/breakthrough-victoria-challenge/
[4] https://www.recyclingtoday.com/news/colorado-legislature-passes-battery-epr-bill/
