Canadian Solar signs solar panel recycling deal with SOLARCYCLE
Canadian Solar Inc. entered into a partnership agreement with U.S.-based PV recycling company SOLARCYCLE. This makes Canadian Solar one of the first crystalline silicon solar module manufacturers to offer comprehensive recycling services to its U.S. customers (Qcells signed a similar agreement in February).
“Partnering with SOLARCYCLE enables us to offer our premium solar solutions together with critical end-of-life recycling services across the United States,” says Thomas Koerner, Senior Vice President of Canadian Solar.
Under the terms of the agreement, SOLARCYCLE will serve as Canadian Solar’s preferred recycling partner, while Canadian Solar will act as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partner to SOLARCYCLE, offering upfront recycling services. Canadian Solar customers can now secure recycling services at the time of purchase, integrating sustainability into the lifecycle of their projects from the outset.
“By including upfront recycling services as an add-on to the price of a solar module, Canadian Solar is helping to move the entire industry forward to ensure that we are truly sustainable, from cradle-to-cradle,” says Suvi Sharma, CEO and Co-Founder of SOLARCYCLE. “We will look back on their leadership in this moment as one of the key strategies the solar industry used to embed our core values into our core operations.”
Founded in 2022, SOLARCYCLE currently operates facilities in Odessa, Texas, and Mesa, Arizona, and has inked long-term partnerships with more than 40 of the nation’s largest solar energy companies. Recycling valuable materials such as silver, copper, glass, and aluminum will help divert resources from landfills and reintroduce them into the solar supply chain, supporting domestic manufacturing.
In February, SOLARCYCLE invested an estimated $344 million to open a solar glass manufacturing facility in Cedartown, Georgia. The plant is scheduled to begin construction in 2024 and will be operational in 2026.
The facility will be the first-of-its-kind in the country to use recycled materials from retired solar panels to make new solar glass. The company’s recycling technology allows it to extract 95% of the value from used solar panels.
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