Closing the loop: Australia’s PV stewardship & recycling

We’re designing a national stewardship scheme to tackle end-of-life solar PV challenges—fostering industry collaboration, scaling recycling capacity and unlocking the investment needed for a truly circular energy economy.

Smart Energy Product Stewardship

By the end of 2025, it is estimated that over 20,000,000 panels will have been installed on rooftops and in solar farms across Australia. As the country transitions to a renewable energy future, consumer energy battery adoption is also rapidly increasing.

What is Product Stewardship?

Product stewardship transforms how we think about “waste”. It ensures that all organisations involved in designing, manufacturing, and selling products remain accountable for them throughout their life cycle. By prioritising health and environmental protection at every stage, stewardship moves us away from a “take-make-waste” mindset and towards a truly circular and resilient economy.

The $6.5 Billion Resource Opportunity

Findings from our Queensland recovery pilots demonstrate that our Australian recycling industry can now extract a diverse range of high-value resources from decommissioned assets. This includes silver, copper, and aluminium, as well as high-purity silicon, solar-grade glass, and various polymers, along with critical minerals like Antimony found in solar panel glass.

By 2040, the recoverable value of these materials is estimated to be approximately $6.5 billion. This represents a significant economic opportunity to grow value within the industry and maximise the value of recovered downstream materials.

Our Stewardship Action

The Smart Energy Council looks beyond simple waste management. Landfilling is an unacceptable alternative to a circular economy for renewable energy infrastructure.

National Leadership: We led Australia’s first solar panel and battery recycling pilots in Queensland, recovering ~25,000 panels to inform state and federal policy.
Strong Advocacy: We lead the push for a national mandatory stewardship program, backed by our Joint Statement signed by 60 supporting organisations.
Capacity Building: We provide information resources and training programs to educate and upskill our renewable energy community.
Member Support: We enable our members to have a voice in the policy development of solar stewardship at state and federal levels.

Join the Movement

We strive for a circular economy that minimises waste, recovers valuable resources, grows our industry and keeps renewable energy truly renewable. This mission is only possible with the backing of our members.

Explore Our Resources

SEC Policy Position

Our policy position outlines clear, actionable pathways to boost reuse, recycling, and local circular economy solutions – ensuring Australia maximises resource recovery, safeguards the environment, and supports a thriving clean energy sector.

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Find a Solar Recycler near you

We’re working with leading partners to fast-track a comprehensive solar panel recycling system in Australia. Our pilot program has already created real, on-the-ground recycling options across multiple locations. Find your closest pilot recycler.

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Repowering and obsolescence of solar farms

This document explores the concept of repowering solar farms, examining its definition, typical timeframes, case studies and relevant references. It also addresses the critical issue of obsolescence in solar farms, covering its definition, contributing factors, impacts, and the development of an effective obsolescence plan for a large-scale solar farm.

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Decommissioning and Repowering of Large Scale Solar Plants

This project aimed to create a comprehensive database of Australia’s large-scale solar plants, estimate decommissioning timelines and waste volumes, and assess repowering potential. Furthermore, the project sought to understand industry perspectives on solar panel decommissioning, including contractual obligations, recycling awareness, willingness to sell modules, cost expectations, and opinions on the proposed national stewardship scheme.

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Solar module recycling

The global shift to renewable energy sources, led by solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, has ushered in an era of extraordinary growth. However, this rapid expansion presents a growing challenge: managing end-of-life solar modules. As the first wave of largescale solar installations reach the end of their operational life, the need for effective and sustainable recycling solutions becomes increasingly important. This report analyses the complex landscape of solar module recycling, offering a comprehensive overview of the technologies, policies, and advancements shaping this vital sector.

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Solar Module Product Stewardship - Reuse Desktop Study

This desktop literature review has been prepared for the Smart Energy Council to assist in identifying priority actions to promote the re-use of decommissioned solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Note that the recommendations outlined in this report do not form policy recommendations by or on behalf of the Smart Energy Council or the Queensland State Government, rather they reflect the consolidated learnings from the desktop review.

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Aluminium in Solar Panels

Aluminium plays a critical role in the durability and performance of solar panels, with several kilograms embedded in every framed module. As Australia’s solar fleet grows, so too does the importance of recovering this high-value, energy-intensive material. Recycling aluminium from end-of-life panels offers a simple, high-impact pathway to cut emissions and strengthen Australia’s green-metals future.

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Silver in Solar Panels

Silver is a critical material in crystalline silicon solar cells, forming the conductive contacts that enable electricity generation. Although each module contains a small amount of silver, the scale of global PV deployment makes solar one of the world’s largest industrial consumers of silver. As end-of-life volumes grow Australia's biggest silver mine is sitting inside solar panels and strengthening recovery pathways and circularity will be essential to securing future supply and supporting the clean energy transition.

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Copper in Solar Modules

Copper is essential to solar panels and the broader electrification of our economy, yet global supply is tightening as demand accelerates. With primary mining unable to meet projected needs, secondary copper from recycling will become critical to bridging the growing supply gap. Strengthening circular recovery from end-of-life solar systems is therefore central to securing materials for the energy transition.

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Silicon in Solar Panels

Silicon is the core material powering more than 95% of global solar panels and underpins Australia’s rapidly expanding PV fleet. Recovering high-purity silicon is key to strengthening circularity, supply chain resilience and domestic manufacturing opportunities. Silicon is a strategically significant material for recovery though PV panel stewardship.

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Antimony in Solar Modules

Antimony is primarily used in solar panel glass to enhance optical performance, with small amounts embedded in each module. It is stable and low-risk during normal use, but must be properly managed at end of life. Effective identification, segregation and controlled processing are key to ensuring safe, sustainable solar stewardship as Australia’s PV fleet grows.

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Fact sheet: Solar Module Recycling in Australia

Australia’s rapid solar uptake is now creating a growing end-of-life challenge, with infrastructure for decommissioned panels still fragmented and inconsistent. Recycling recovers valuable materials like glass, silicon, silver and copper, prevents landfill risks, and creates economic opportunity. A coordinated national approach — including EPR, investment in recycling capacity and design-for-recycling — will be essential to building a sustainable solar stewardship system.

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Stewardship – Reuse & Recycle working group

SEC Stewardship Community

Chair: Darren Johannesen – Executive General Manager – Sustainability, Smart Energy Council

Structure:

Recycler Roundtable.
Reuse Roundtable & Working Group.
Logistics Working Group.

Current Focus:

Designing a national stewardship scheme to tackle solar PV recycling challenges.
Fostering industry capacity through collaboration and problem-solving.
Attracting critical investment to scale sustainable solutions.