By Jenel Hunt
Renewable energy has always come with a big material cost but the Queensland Government has announced it is spearheading a plan will eventually see a complete ban on the dumping of solar panels in landfill.
The recycling of materials that would otherwise be trashed is earmarked to be an industry-led scheme – but before that happens, Queenslanders are being encouraged to have their say.
Community consultation is part of the war on e-waste as Queensland heads towards the nirvana of zero waste. The draft action plan is available on the Queensland Government website. Go to the website and search for ’Queensland’s draft E-Products Action Plan’. People can download the plan then email their responses and ideas to eproductsfeedback@des.qld.gov.au – but get in fairly quickly because the feedback time closes at 5pm on 17 April.
Figures show that in 2019, solar panel waste accounted for nearly 1000 tonnes. By 2030 that amount is expected to have skyrocketed to 17,000 tonnes, showing how important it is to get in on the ground floor with responsible planning.
This won’t be a quick fix. The government is expecting full implementation to take 10 years. Solar panels aren’t the only products to come under scrutiny, either. Batteries and many kinds of electronic products are also being targetted not only for recycling but also for initiatives like repair cafes to keep devices in circulation for longer.
Minister for Environment and Science Meaghan Scanion said the initiative would be Australia’s first industry-led solar recycling scheme.
She said Queensland had the highest rooftop solar penetration in the country so needed to explore how panels were dealt with when they reached the end of their life.
A pilot game plan, known as the Solar Stewardship Scheme, will be led by Smart Energy Council and Activ Group.
Smart Energy Council Acting Chief Executive Wayne Smith said the trial would examine the best ways to fix obstacles – both economic and logistical – to the effective collection and disposal of unwanted household solar panels. The initial focus would be on regional areas, he said.
“The Queensland Government leads the world in embracing solar on homes so it makes sense that it is now leads the nation on solar panel recycling with Australia’s first industry-led solar panel recycling scheme,” he said.
He said the Smart Energy Council would establish a consultative committee including solar PV (photovoltaic system) manufacturers, distributors, retailers, installers and certificate traders alongside recycling companies, regulators, local councils and Queensland Government representatives.
The Activ Group, known as a ’circular economy specialist’, will develop a tracking and information system to log volumes and locations of recovered materials as part of the pilot scheme.
The pilot will involve two stages, with the first stage identifying participants and locations to divert end-of-life solar panels from landfill and the next stage for on-the-ground collection, recovery and recycling of panels. The main focus will be on rooftop installations.
The pilot builds on the Queensland Government’s $1.1 billion Recycling and Jobs Fund, which has the lofty ideal of diverting 80 per cent of waste from landfill by 2030.
The Southern Downs has had a good uptake of solar power. As well as ever-growing domestic use, last year the Warwick and Stanthorpe Hospitals powered up with solar electricity.
The year before, the $125 million Warwick Solar Farm at Sladevale just north of Warwick came online. The University of Queensland project has more than 304,540 solar panels covering 154 hectares, with a maximum power output of 64.2 megawatts. The Warwick Solar Farm is the university’s crown in an ambitious sustainability program.
In conjunction with a 3.3 megawatt solar farm at Gatton campus and more than 3 megawatts of solar systems on the rooftops of the university’s buildings, the Warwick project made the University of Queensland the first university in the world to offset 100 per cent of its electricity usage from its own renewable energy generation.
