Terremachtthe recycling department of BBB industries and Ontility has opened a solar panel recycling line at its facility in Sparta, Tennessee.
The Terrepower facility provides complete separation of solar panel materials such as aluminum, glass, precious metals, silicon, plastic and components. This process should enable more efficient disposal of materials for reuse.
“We can reduce environmental waste by extracting the most value from the original part before it is recycled,” said Maria Caballero, president of Terrepower. “With the addition of our fully automated recycling machine, we can now tackle the problem of solar energy waste while complementing our existing sustainable production process.”
The Sparta location can currently process up to 160,000 solar panels per year for recycling. As the company ramps up operations and more recycling projects emerge, this capacity is expected to increase significantly in the coming years.
“Our goal is to divert solar energy waste from landfills and use waste streams efficiently,” said Caballero. “By bringing recycling in-house, we can serve our customers under one roof while significantly scaling our recycling efforts.”
Last year alone, Terrepower recycled more than 2,000,000 kilos of solar panels through partnerships, equivalent to approximately 40,000 panels. With the introduction of internal recycling, Terrepower aims to recycle 8,000,000 kilos of solar waste annually, further increasing its impact on the environment. The company can currently process all types of silicon solar panels and Terrepower works with several partners to reuse separated materials, including glass for construction and aluminum for local applications.
News item from Terrepower