Solmar Insights
The business of recycling solar panels in the United States is undergoing rapid changes as advances in panel design alter the market for recovered materials. With manufacturers experimenting with reduced silver content and new module types, recyclers are investing in technologies to maintain economic viability and maximize commodity recovery.
Key figures
$12 million SPR facility upgrades, 2026
99.5% panel glass removed in OnePlanet process
Aluminum, copper, and silver as key recovered materials
US facility expansion and new entrants
Once considered a remote environmental challenge, solar panel recycling is now a fast-developing sector with a growing base of dedicated companies such as We Recycle Solar, SolarCycle, and SPR (SolarPanelRecycling.com). These firms operate multiple sites across the country, with a focus on processing crystalline silicon modules, by far the most common in the US market. Facility investments have scaled up, including a $12 million upgrade across SPR’s operations in North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas, aimed at extracting greater value from end-of-life panels while meeting regulatory and commercial demands.
Meanwhile, geographic expansion continues, with new players such as OnePlanet establishing a specialized recycling process outside Jacksonville, Florida. Their innovations signal a regional commitment to supporting the solar supply chain and reducing landfill use as volumes of decommissioned modules rise.
Economics of recovered materials
The profitability of solar panel recycling hinges on harvesting valuable materials embedded in modules. For crystalline silicon panels, aluminum frames, copper wiring, high-purity silicon, and silver are the primary revenue generators. Glass, which constitutes the bulk of most panels, is considered a low-value commodity, yet its clean removal remains essential to access the more lucrative components beneath.
Brett Henderson, CEO of SPR, notes that markets for recycled commodities determine economic feasibility: facilities must deliver sufficient volume and purity for manufacturers to close the raw materials loop. As the recycled value of a panel depends on its original metal content, design trends directly impact the bottom line for recyclers.
Impact of manufacturer material choices
Responding to high silver prices, some solar manufacturers are now shifting toward panel designs with reduced or even zero silver content. While this alleviates cost pressure for producers and could accelerate new installations, it diminishes the recycling value of future module generations. No-silver panels are less attractive to recyclers, posing challenges for business models reliant on precious metal recovery.
This trend forces recyclers into a dual role: as commodity recovery specialists and as close analysts of ongoing solar technology changes. Their ability to adapt processes and investment strategies will shape their share in the broader clean energy ecosystem.
Advances in recycling techniques
The first stage of silicon panel recycling is the careful separation of aluminum frames and electrical junction boxes. The removal of intact glass panes, a primary research and development focus, unlocks the path to valuable constituents like copper and high-grade silicon. SPR’s plant upgrades address the need to avoid damaging underlying wafers during glass extraction, maximizing both yield and value.
OnePlanet’s proprietary process delivers a 99.5% glass removal rate at 99% purity using high-velocity airflow, which fractures the glass without contaminating the more valuable layers beneath. This technique not only increases the resale quality of glass but also enhances the concentration of the silicon-silver mix, which is processed into 95% pure silicon with just 1% silver. This product is suitable for delivery to global refineries, which handle the final separation steps at scale.
Future-proofing infrastructure and supply chains
Thin-film cadmium-telluride (CdTe) modules, while prominent in utility-scale applications via manufacturers like First Solar, currently prove less compelling for third-party recyclers. Their frameless design reduces salvage value, and the commodity market does not currently demand the recovery of cadmium or tellurium. This underscores the importance for recyclers of aligning technology investments with the dominant silicon panel market and evolving module design trends.
As the US solar industry prepares for large volumes of aging panels to reach end-of-life over the coming decade, infrastructure investment in advanced recycling technology will be necessary. Players capable of processing the next generation of panel designs, with an eye to both commodity prices and shifting material compositions, stand to shape the economics of clean energy supply chains.
What this means for buyers
Equipment asset value in US solar is sensitive to changing manufacturer material choices, especially reduced silver use in new modules. SPR’s $12 million in facility upgrades and OnePlanet’s 99.5% glass purity removal technology mark shifts in recycling economics that could affect residual asset value projections through 2028. Buyers must re-examine end-of-life assumptions for solar equipment procurement and divestment in light of these design and process innovations this quarter.
Reporting via the original publisher
