Suvi Sharma, CEO and Co-Founder of SOLARCYCLE, dives into the booming field of solar panel recycling. She discusses the staggering growth in solar panel deployment, estimating billions of panels will soon reach the end of their life cycles. Suvi explains the complex challenges of recycling these panels, from regulatory hurdles to the high-value metals involved. She also outlines SOLARCYCLE's innovative processes and the vital role recycling plays in creating sustainable energy solutions and domestic supply chains.
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insights INSIGHT
Exponential Solar Deployment Growth
Solar power deployment has ramped from 5 gigawatts globally in 2000-2005 to a forecasted 2000 gigawatts by 2025.
This exponential growth equates to producing over 1.2 billion solar panels annually, creating a vast physical footprint.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Solar Panels Outnumber TVs
Annually, humanity produces about 230 million televisions worldwide.
In contrast, 1.2 billion solar panels are produced yearly, highlighting solar's unprecedented scale.
insights INSIGHT
Solar Panels Nearing End-of-Life
Most solar panels today remain in use as their expected lifespan is about 25-30 years.
The industry is starting to face end-of-life panels now, necessitating recycling infrastructure development.
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SOLARCYCLE is an emerging leader in the nascent category of solar panel recycling. The astounding ramp of solar panels deployed across the world rivals almost any technology adoption curve in history, and it's far from over. There were only five gigawatts of solar deployed globally between 2000 and 2005. By the end of 2025, a mere 20 years later, there will be around 2,000 gigawatts of solar deployed globally, and the growth is expected to continue to be exponential. That's billions and billions of panels that collectively make up a few hundred thousand square miles of space. And given the rate of installation, most of these panels are early in their expected lifespans. So, what happens when they do hit the end of life? Surely they aren't going to just be landfilled, right? Right? That's what Suvi's here to about.
In this episode, we cover:
[01:16] Solar panel deployment vs. end-of-life lag
[03:40] Billions of panels, billions of square feet
[05:11] 1.2B panels produced annually—set to triple
[07:06] Why is now the time to build recycling
[08:36] Who’s responsible for end-of-life? Developers
[9:36] Federal and state regulatory requirements
[10:46] Why landfilling is harder than it looks
[12:44] What makes solar panels tough to recycle
[14:01] The high-value metals: silver, copper, aluminum
[16:17] How SOLARCYCLE’s proprietary process works
[18:01] The company’s customer base
[19:18] Over 1M panels recycled in 2024
[20:44] Future opportunities in solar + storage recycling
[21:57] SOLARCYCLE’s funding to date
[24:55] Commodity markets for recycled materials
[26:39] What’s holding back growth for panel recycling
[30:05] SOLARCYCLE is hiring
[33:54] Panels as feedstock materials for domestic manufacturing
Episode recorded on May 22, 2025 (Published on June 30, 2025)
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Inevitable