Three months and still no sign of life, but government says it is “committed” to solar recycling pilot

Solar panel recyclers are still in limbo as the suspension of the initial startup phase of flagship pilot hits three months, but the government insists it is “committed” to seeing it through.  

The pilot was put on indefinite hold in mid-May after a complaint about the procurement process for a scheme administrator. 

This week the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEEW) had no updates to its original statement reported by Renew Economy earlier this month.

But DCCEEW did announce later on Thursday afternoon that the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water will hold a public hearing on Monday, as part of its inquiry into solar panel reuse and recycling.

Environment minister Murray Watt says the government remains committed to the pilot.

“We want to see the pilot commence as soon as possible,” he said in a statement sent to Renew Economy. 

“Getting the rollout of the pilot right is really important – it’s crucial we have a sustainable and effective national solution to recycling end-of-life solar panels.

“The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is working to appoint an administrator.”

The fully-funded, $24.7 million pilot was supposed to start earlier this month and last for a year, setting up 100 collection sites around the country and making recycling financially viable by paying for panels. 

It is intended to inform both New South Wales (NSW) regulations, the state leading the push for a recycling industry, and a future stewardship scheme. 

Recyclers, such as industry leader James Petesic at PV Industries, warn that if the delay continues for “too many months” the industry will wither away, removing Australia’s ability to get any value from the precious metals and parts contained in what some once-hopefully called the country’s next resource boom. 

Already a number of recyclers have succumbed to the industry’s main problem, a lack of feedstock. 

Among the casualties are Reclaim PV in 2023, and Sircel late last year, itself joining the industry when it bought the solar recycling assets of bankrupt Scipher Technologies for $5 million in May 2024.

On Monday, the standing committee will hear from industry representatives, recycling businesses and local government about the growing challenge of managing end-of-life solar panels, and the opportunities to build a circular economy around reuse, recycling and the recovery of valuable materials.

“We are interested in hearing evidence on the barriers currently facing the sector, including the high cost of recycling compared to landfill disposal, the absence of a national product stewardship scheme, inconsistent regulations across jurisdictions, and the challenges of attracting investment in recycling infrastructure,” says Committee chair, Anne Urquhart MP.

The public hearing starts at 9am on Monday August 03 and is expected to run until 2pm, at Parliament House in Canberra.

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