Decommissioned solar panels deemed still functional are reinstalled at Texas factory
SolarCycle’s recycling facility in Texas with its secondhand solar power plant. Credit: SolarCycle
Solar panel recycling outfit SolarCycle announced it has installed a 500-kW system at its recycling facility in Odessa, Texas, that will provide around 50% of the electricity used at the factory. The nearly 1,000 panels used on the project come from decommissioned solar projects — some from utility-scale projects in Texas installed by Ørsted and others from residential projects from Sunrun.
It is a unique mix of utility-scale and residential solar panels being reused while they still are able to generate solar power.
“As retired solar panels from companies like Ørsted and Sunrun come offline, [SolarCycle] assesses the power and durability of the panels and evaluates whether they can be used again,” SolarCycle explained in a press email. “In five or ten years, once the solar array’s power production shrinks, the company will transfer the panels to their recycling lines and replace the panels with future feedstock.”
SolarCycle said it plans to expand this “secondhand power plant” to generate more of the company’s energy demands, including for its recycling facilities in Mesa, Arizona, and Cedartown, Georgia.