The Looming Challenge of Solar Waste

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- DEFG, a research and advisory firm focused on customer strategy and experience in the utility sector, (www.defgllc.com) released today, "Solar End Stage: Planning and Risk Scenarios for Removal of Solar." The research was developed as part of Solar IQ, combining research with customer-facing content aligned to the solar customer journey. The research clearly points to a growing problem of what to do with solar when it is time to remove the systems from a customer's property.

"As consumer investment in solar grows, so does the question of what will happen when those systems reach the end of life," stated Jamie Wimberly, CEO of DEFG.  "Our research revealed there are many challenges that will face customers, communities and utilities as the first generation of solar panels reach their end of life."

Today, there is approximately 375 MW of installed residential solar.  This translates to 1,500,000 rooftop solar panels which, ultimately, will equate to 30,000 tons of solar waste sometime in the future.  There are only 7 existing facilities in the United States that can recycle the solar waste.  And that's today.  The projected exponential growth of residential solar is expected to result in even more solar waste that will need to be removed, transported, recycled or stored.

"Customers, particularly those that were early adopters of solar energy, want confidence that the disposal process adheres to the philosophy of reduce, reuse, recycle," said Karen Lefkowitz, lead analyst of the research and CEO of Sunset Energy. "However, there are obstacles that must be overcome before there is a process ready for the impending volume of panels. And there really isn't the capability to handle even a fraction of the projected solar waste today."

For a free copy of the report, go to: www.defgllc.com.

DEFG is a research and advisory firm specializing in consumers and consumer-facing offerings in the utility sector. We believe that customers are the future of energy. Since 2003, we have helped clients create value in a commodity marketplace. Solar IQ is a joint DEFG offering with Questline to provide ongoing research and customer-facing content aligned with the solar customer journey.

SOURCE DEFG LLC