PV Cycle was founded in July 2007 to implement the photovoltaic industry’s commitment to take responsibility for PV modules throughout their entire value chain. While , full-scale end-of-life recycling is still another 10-15 years away, the PV industry is working to create solutions that take into consideration the environmental impacts of all stages of the product life cycle, from raw material sourcing through end-of-life collection and recycling.
Although the PV industry is young, leading manufacturers have embraced the concept of producer responsibility and have come together to put in place a voluntary, industry-wide take-back and recycling programme: PV Cycle. “By addressing future recycling needs now, we can offer a truly sustainable energy solution today to help prevent climate change tomorrow,” they say.
During March, several companies joined this scheme including a number of Chinese manufacturers such as Jinko Solar Co Ltd, which is one of the few PV manufacturers that has 1.5 GW capacity in 2011, and Zhejiang Trunsun Solar Co Ltd, which expects to have an annual production capacity of 250MW by the end of 2011.
Another recent recruit to PV Cycle is Spain’s IBC Solar: a PV specialist that has become one of the association’s Spanish collection agents after it established a collection point in Ribarroja del Turia in January of this year. Obsolete modules can be deposited at the collection point, from where they will be transported to a recycling plant to recover raw materials and components for reuse.
The industry assumes all the costs of the process, providing the recycling service free of charge to customers. IBC Solar admits any modules, irrespective of their origin, although they must have been manufactured before 31 December 20009, since PV Cycle establishes that modules manufactured after that date can only be collected if they were produced by members of the association.
José María Llopis, Managing Director of IBC Solar in Spain and Portugal, says that becoming a collection point in the region of Valencia, “is a clear sign of our commitment to the environment and to our customers' satisfaction”.
IBC Solar shares the “doubly green” approach of PV Cycle, striving to ensure its production process is as sustainable as possible, as well as providing the recycling service. "We promote the use of renewable, clean energy and also offer a solution to managing the components, taking responsibility for the waste produced and encouraging reuse," says Llopis. According to IBC Solar, 86% of the components of a solar module can be used to manufacture new ones, which means that recycled parts have another 25 years of useful life. It is hoped that within f to 10 years, it will be possible to recycle up to 96% of the content of as module.
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