What do we do with solar panels once they reach end-of-life?
this post was submitted on 09 Feb 2024
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What do we do with coal or nuclear power stations when they reach end of life?
EU regulation forces manufacturers to recycle 95% of solar modules. At the same time they seem to age fairly well. With no moving parts the only really big problem are damage and loosing capacity. However degradation is between 0.5-0.8% per year. So even if you use 0.8% a 50 year old panel still has 66% of its original efficiency.
I never understood why solar panels shelf life is an issue. Solar panels have a shelf life of over 20+ years. Humanity produce many other things that have a much shorter lifespan.
Even nuclear plants have a lifespan, and people are slowing understanding that since many plants are now being decommissioned
ship them to china