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Workshop report: Addressing solar PV panel waste

31 March 2020

Workshop report: Addressing solar PV panel waste

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Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing a large increase in the amount of installed solar PV systems. Some of these systems are  already facing the challenge of waste, through transit and installation damages, mishandling and extreme weather events. Others are already becoming obsolete due to the pace of technology development.

In response to the rise of this new waste stream, and the projections for a significant rise in the near future; GreenCape and Inspired Evolution, in partnership with SAPVIA hosted a workshop on 5 March 2020 with delegates from industry, government and academia, to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with waste solar PV panels, or end-of-life (EOL) solar PV panels.

Presentations focused on: 

  • Shedding light on the “dark side” of solar
  • The basics of how a solar PV panel converts light into electricity
  • The role of SAPVIA in the industry for utility scale as well as small scale solar PV 
  • The existing processing capacity that Urban Elements and Reclite have in South Africa.
  • “Exponential Moonshot Thinking” – explaining how modern technology is growing exponentially and that the fourth industrial revolution is a time of rethinking and creating a future that we are all better off in.

Breakaway discussion were held on topics relating to legal, logistics & location and technical solutions & funding.

To access the full report on the feedback of the discussions at the workshop click here.