Retired solar panels to be recycled into 20 million square metres of solar glass as part of SOLARCYCLE partnership
SOLARCYCLE’s ultra-low carbon recycled solar glass will be used for Heliene’s North American-made solar PV modules
Heliene and SOLARCYCLE have entered into a purchasing agreement for at least twenty million square metres of SOLARCYCLE's recycled glass. Heliene, a provider of North American-made solar PV modules, will use SOLARCYCLE's ultra-low carbon solar glass, which is made from recycled retired solar panels. SOLARCYCLE will add to Heliene's existing roster of domestic manufacturing suppliers, including U.S. makers of silicon solar cells and aluminum frames.
By purchasing SOLARCYCLE's American-made ultra-low carbon glass, Heliene is also reducing the climate impacts created during manufacturing by over 30 percent and from shipping by more than 50 percent.
The equivalent of 3,700 football fields of recycled glass
In the agreement, SOLARCYCLE will sell at least four gigawatts of recycled glass to Heliene over the next five years, the equivalent of about 3,700 football fields. Both companies have recently announced major expansion plans, on the heels of rapid domestic solar manufacturing growth in the U.S.
"We are thrilled to add glass to our growing set of domestically made materials that will go into our modules. Partnering with SOLARCYCLE enables us to improve our supply of domestic components, to help our clients qualify for the domestic content adder, while materially reducing our carbon footprint," says Martin Pochtaruk, CEO of Heliene.
Recycled solar glass helps to fill gaps in domestic solar manufacturing chain
SOLARCYCLE announced its own plans to build a first-of-its-kind factory in Georgia to use recycled materials from retired solar panels to make new solar glass. The facility will be able to make five to six gigawatts of solar glass every year. The glass fills a critical gap in America's domestic solar manufacturing supply chain.
"We need to build more solar modules in America to increase the resiliency and sustainability of America's fastest growing source of power," says Suvi Sharma, CEO and co-founder of SOLARCYCLE. "We are excited to partner with Heliene so that they can use our ultra-low carbon solar glass to produce the next generation of American solar panels."
This partnership will aid solar developers in additional qualification for Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) benefits and will help stabilize costs and domestic inventory.
