[Anchor]

As solar power generation rapidly increases, the disposal of related waste, such as solar panels that have reached the end of their lifespan, is emerging as a major challenge.

Recycling technologies to recover core minerals from these discarded panels are emerging as an alternative, and Senior Reporter Jang Se-man reports from the field.

[Reporter]

A 15-year-old solar power complex.

Demolition work is underway to recycle aging panels.

The problem is that recycling regulations are strict.

Due to concerns over pollutant emissions, on-site operations such as dismantling and disassembling panels are prohibited.

Because panels must be transported without removing auxiliary parts, their bulk increases, raising transportation cost burdens and sometimes leading to abandonment.

In this situation, end-of-life waste panels are pouring in.

The amount of processed waste panels, which stood at 152 tons in 2023, has surged fifteenfold over three years to 2,300 tons this year.

While the mounting volume of solar waste is becoming an increasing headache, new recycling alternatives are also being introduced one after another to counter this.

Equipment filling the cargo bed of a large trailer consists of mobile facilities that travel to solar power plants to recycle waste panels on-site.

Although previously prohibited under the Wastes Control Act, the first operation took place this week thanks to a regulatory sandbox that provides temporary exemptions.

[Lee Sang-heon / CEO, Wonkwang S&T: When processed on-site, transportation costs can be reduced to about one-sixth. Now, the recycling rate will also go up.]

Recycling technologies are also advancing.

Previously, the upper glass layer and lower solar cell panel of a solar panel were crushed together, which reduced the purity when extracting minerals.

On the other hand, the newly introduced technology separates the glass layer by slicing it with a blade, much like filleting.

Because only the solar cell panels are detached and crushed separately, the extraction rate of minerals such as silver and copper increases by four to five times, enhancing economic feasibility.

[Lee Jin-seok / Researcher, Korea Institute of Energy Research: Because we can separate the glass without damaging it, we can recover high-purity glass without the mixing of impurities.]

To reduce air pollution and energy consumption caused by high-temperature pyrolysis methods, research on recycling utilizing high voltage or lasers is also gaining attention.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Reported by Jang Se-man | Video by Bae Moon-san | Video Editing by Kim Yoon-sung | VJ by Shin So-young)