this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2023
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[โ€“] metaStatic@kbin.social 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I wonder what it would cost if there was actually a plan for EOL panels to keep them out of landfill.

[โ€“] perestroika@slrpnk.net 5 points 11 months ago

As an anecdote, I can tell that I'm still using my shattered solar panels. :)

(Normal people would not, of course.)

One broke during welding because a droplet of molten metal hit it - the hardened glass shattered all over. Another met with a flying plywood sheet during a storm - the plywood went right through with a corner and made a hole.

I use both panels on a wheelbarrow to pump water on the field during flood season. They're perfect, nobody wants to steal them because they look like they got nuked. :D I worry about the wheelbarrow considerably more. :D

But yes, a recycling plan would be needed. Grinding them up and getting the aluminum back is not too hard, but how to separate the glass from the sealing silicone and doped silicon - I know some folks in Korea do it, but I don't know how. :o