The bright challenge of recycling solar panels and wind turbines

Both systems have a lifespan between 25 and 30 years, and a high percentage of their components can have a second life

By Miguel Ángel García Vega

It has a cacophonous echo. The syllable "re" duplicates as a mirror image. Recycle renewable energies. Solar panels or wind turbines generate a large amount of waste. The adjective that shakes reality comes from Adrián Larripa, professor at the School of Architecture at the Universidad de Navarra and expert engineer in product design. Few people know it. The lifespan of a solar panel and a wind turbine ranges from 25 to 30 years. This does not mean that it "shuts down" and stops operating, but rather its performance drops an average of between 6% and 8%. 

The Spanish regulation is split down the middle. A Royal Decree from 2015 determines that the manufacturer is responsible for recycling the panels. In the case of wind turbines, there is no regulation that requires the same obligation from its developer. "Legislation is needed that makes it mandatory; it is the only way," the teacher acknowledges. Let's do the calculations just like Galileo calculated orbits. By 2050, there will be 78 million panels installed on the planet, of which ten will be on Spanish land. About 95% of the components are recyclable. Aluminum, silicon, plastic, glass. 

The CSIC (High Council on Scientific Research) is currently working on recovering the materials that make up the blades of wind turbines. A puzzle of hundreds of words. For now, Ramón Murillo, researcher at the technology center of the Instituto de Carboquímica (ICB), explains, "Glass fiber makes up between 60% and 75% of the blade's composition and that is where the main studies are being directed." These fibers will first be crushed in the installations themselves and, later, they may be added to the concrete to make public roads more consistent or used in urban architecture. But keep in mind that the CISC clarifies that it is impossible to reuse 100%. Despite everything, the rates are high. They range from 90% to 95%.

Undoubtedly, the fact that they have a 25 or 30 year lifespan does not mean that they lack performance, but rather that it decreases, as we have seen, by an average of 6% to 8%. In terms of the panels, this may seem short if we want to sustain an industry's energy, but it is perfect for household consumption. And it is also important to consider the profit and loss statement. The costs of a large solar installation are covered within six to eight years, after which it is all profit. Therefore, that initial inventory, explained Massimo Maoret, professor of Strategic Management at IESE, can last up to 30 or 40 years. In addition, new panels that last longer will emerge and, based on predictions, will have to be changed.

In this vision, optimism prevails. Although time passes and wind turbines, which were first built with balsa wood (they weighed little and rotated easily under the wind), have become so sophisticated that new developments appear on the market every year. Soon, in 2030, 5,700 windmills will be removed in Europe each year for being obsolete. This is an occasion to promote reuse, as well as second-hand sales. There are countries that cannot afford the cost of the latest technology but could rotate their "used" blades perfectly well. It is an economic and environmental solution. "We have exceeded six of the nine planetary limits and we must move towards a circular economy model that involves giving back what nature gives us." Recycling is key, especially in sectors where technological development is so intense. The first windmills in the Strait of Gibraltar were 0.2 gigawatt hours (GWh) and now wind turbines of over ten gigawatts are being installed. We must replace the old ones with new ones and an entire recycling industry already exists that creates jobs and social wellbeing, in addition to reducing the planetary impact,” reflects the economist José Carlos Diez.

In fact, the Spanish Administration will create the EoLo-Hubs center in 2025, co-financed with around ten million euros from the European Union, aimed at recovering fiberglass and carbon from wind turbine blades that have reached the end of their lifespan. And, in addition, the government will help with 222 million euros to rejuvenate wind and mini-hydraulic installations. Recycling, shall we say, comes in parts. "The wind turbine generator shelves are easier to reuse because it is an electrical system with elements such as copper, which is very easy reuse," Ramón Murillo states. Experts prefer the term reuse to recycling. Wind turbines incorporate a not very high, but significant, amount of the famous rare earth elements. "Recovering and reusing these materials will be a basic strategy," describes Massimo Maoret.

Of course, you have to start at the beginning. When a designer is commissioned to design this type of product, 85% is usually mandated to be recyclable, but "that should be a later step, first, you have to define: how it will be positioned in the market, its price, its capacity for autonomy," says the engineer from the University of Navarra. Another energy expert from a university in Barcelona agrees: "The first thing is to legislate, manufacture and assemble the components in a way that is suitable for recycling." All these steps come before that 85%.

Furthermore, we are at the dawn of this type of recycling as an industry. According to estimates from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, based in Colorado, the value of materials recovered from photovoltaic modules alone represents an industry with a potential of 60 million dollars by 2030, in the United States alone. If we extend the time through 2050, the figure would rise to 2 billion dollars (1.84 billion euros).  In addition, recycling photovoltaic systems and manufacturing waste can divert valuable resources from landfills and reduce the need to extract virgin materials, such as silicon, indium, silver, copper, and tellurium. Let’s not forget that its recovery could also reduce waste and alleviate the need for critical elements. There are still batteries, for example, that power cars. These are active for eight to ten years. But when their end arrives, there is a new beginning. There are usable elements that can be used on a building site, in houses, residences. Energy is neither created nor destroyed, it just turn into solutions. 

Miguel Ángel García Vega
He has been writing for EL PAÍS for some 25 years, currently for Cultura, Negocios, El País Semanal, Retina, Suplementos Especiales, and Ideas. His texts have been republished by La Nación (Argentina), La Tercera (Chile) or Le Monde (France). He has received, among others, the AECOC, Accenture, Antonio Moreno Espejo (CNMV) and Ciudad de Badajoz awards.