Queensland opens USD-3.6m solar panel recycling scheme

The government of Queensland has launched an AUD-5.5-million (USD 3.6m/EUR 3.3m) pilot programme that will allocate grants for the recycling of solar panels and enable the components to be reused at their end-of-life.

The scheme is anticipated to enable thousands of panels from residential and commercial photovoltaic (PV) installations and large-scale parks to be recycled, the state government announced on Friday. The launch of the initiative is part of the Solar Stewardship Scheme that was started about a year ago and aims to ban the dumping of solar panels in landfills.

Almost half of the total funding basket, some AUD 2.5 million, will go to ensure that residential solar panels can avoid landfills and are re-purposed for parts. The remaining AUD 3 million is earmarked for grants allocated to the Smart Energy Council (SEC), the Queensland Renewable Energy Council (QREC) and the Clean Energy Council (CEC).

The pilot programme will be managed by SEC.

“With up to five locations in metro and regional Queensland set to host the pilot, we expect to see a significant uplift in opportunity to create new jobs in recovery and processing activities,” said Mick de Brenni, Minister for Energy of Queensland.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.648/EUR 0.608)

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