Solarcycle, Silicon Ranch partner to recycle solar panels

Silicon Ranch Corp., Nashville, Tennessee, a large independent power producer, and Solarcycle, a tech-driven solar recycling platform, have announced a partnership to process end-of-life solar modules from Silicon Ranch projects through Solarcycle’s recycling platform.

Solarcycle's approach to recycling recovers approximately 95 percent of solar panel value, which can be returned to the supply chain and used to manufacture new panels, the company says. With an operating portfolio of more than 145 solar power facilities across 15 states, Silicon Ranch is Solarcycle’s first utility-scale partner.

“As the long-term owner of every project in our portfolio, we at Silicon Ranch are deeply committed to our relationships and responsibilities in the communities we serve. These responsibilities include end-of-life equipment management,” Silicon Ranch President and CEO Reagan Farr says. “Embracing this opportunity to pioneer recycling and re-use processes at scale with Solarcycle is a significant step in meeting these responsibilities.”

The alliance comes at a critical time as the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act is expected to accelerate demand for solar energy and a domestic solar supply chain. The partnership will help fuel the growing U.S. solar manufacturing industry with a domestic supply of recycled materials essential to the production of new solar panels, including glass, silicon and valuable metals such as silver, copper and aluminum. Recent research by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that by 2040, for certain materials, recycling can meet 25 percent to 30 percent of domestic solar manufacturing needs in the United States.

“Solarcycle’s team is taking what we learned in the solar, sustainability and recycling industries and applying it to our tech-driven recycling solutions. We know that scale matters in order to be able to drive costs down and bring the quality up,” Solarcycle CEO Suvi Sharma says. “We are thrilled that our partnership with Silicon Ranch—an innovative leader in bringing solar to scale sustainably and responsibly—will help us make solar across America fully sustainable.”

Launched earlier this year, Solarcycle is establishing a state-of-the-art solar panel recycling center, which will open in the fourth quarter.

Silicon Ranch pioneered utility-scale solar in the Southeast with the first large-scale solar projects in Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas and Kentucky. Solarcycle is the latest partnership supporting domestic infrastructure secured by Silicon Ranch. In the last six months, Silicon Ranch has announced agreements with FirstSolar, Tempe, Arizona, and Nextracker, Fremont, California, to improve the carbon footprint while supporting additional investment in U.S. manufacturing capabilities. Earlier this year, Silicon Ranch completed a $775 million equity raise led by Manulife Investment Management.