The Sunset on Solar project aims to divert end of life solar panels from across southern NSW landfills for further processing.
RAMJO member councils – Murray River, Griffith, Hay, Federation, Berrigan, Leeton and AlburyCity – are involved in the project which will aim to recycle approximately 7,500 panels during its timeframe.
Baseline data will be established with councils across the RAMJO region for existing solar panels entering the waste stream and to prepare for future large-scale systems that will be entering in the coming years.
This project will serve as proof of concept for collecting and processing expired solar panels in the Riverina and Murray Joint Organisation region. Panels are dismantled on site by removing the aluminium frame to increase the transport capacity and transporting the remaining glass/wafer material to Melbourne for further processing, allowing for 100 per cent of the panel to be recovered.
The councils will work in partnership with PV industries to complete the project targets. The total project cost is $89,000 including grant funding and in-kind council contributions.
In addition to the Sunset on Solar project, RAMJO is partnering with PV Industries and the University of Technology Sydney to trial different methods and identify a commercially viable approach for the collection aggregation and assessment of end-of-life solar panels and associated waste at Albury Waste Management Centre, Leeton Waste Management Centre, Buronga Landfill (Wentworth), Moama Waste Management Centre and within the wider RAMJO region.
The Sunset on Solar project is an NSW Environment Protection Authority, Waste Less Recycle More initiative funded from the waste levy.