Page 26 - North American Clean Energy May/June 2020 Issue

solar energy
Recycling a Solar System - Part 2
Practical actions for managing solar module waste
by Dwight Clark, CHMM and AJ Orben
In the second of this two-part series, we focus on the actual waste management concepts related to solar panels, and the steps every company should take to develop a program for used solar cell components.
The first order of business: establish your risk tolerance
as an organization. Some organizations choose to be more conservative than others. This decision point will likely drive the remainder of the decision-making process. To protect your organization from the EPA and/or repetitional risks, take note of the following key points.
Packaging is Key
Pay attention to how solar modules are packaged after removal from the racking.
For those panels considered suitable enough for reuse, management must require careful handling to reduce the possibility of cell damage from mechanically aided lifting.
For scrap panels - ensure that glass and other materials are not getting dislodged and landing on the ground. In some cases, the EPA can consider this a disposal or a spill. To help prevent the spillage in storage and transit, use either a pallet with a solid
top, or a corrugated tray with the edges bent up around the panels at 90 degrees (in addition to the banding and stretch wrap).
With new modules coming off a highly automated assembly line, robots precisely palletize the modules for safe shipment and placement in the racking for operations. Contrast this with the conditions of a solar farm on vacant desert land or an agricultural field, where pallets have been on the site since the installation – chances are they are weather rotted, the OEM spacers and other original packaging having long since disappeared. Even the
basic step of loading the modules onto a truck without reliable protective packaging or a dock can risk damaging them.
Ensure Operability
When selling or donating PV Equipment for reuse, you must provide evidence of operability of the units by using appropriate testing methods. It is well documented that the cells within
a solar module are susceptible to micro cracking and other damage during handling. When it comes to handling a used
solar module, the number of steps alone increases the probability of damage.
Flash testing and visual inspection may not be enough to ensure that the modules being sold are free from latent defects that can cause long-term underperformance. Even if production is performed to best-known practices, shipping and installation may be damaging for the modules delivered to a project site. For PV modules, EL is the technology of choice to detect micro cracks, which can be a signature of mishandling.
Select a Vendor
Develop a process and metrics for choosing which vendor will manage the solar modules (reuse or waste). Ensure that any “advice” provided by the vendor is verified.
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MAY•JUNE 2020 ///
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