Dossier: solar panels

In a few years, the large waste stream of solar panels will start. We will then have to deal with rapid and unpredictable increases in the costs of recycling this. In addition, the legislator requires a provision to ensure that there is sufficient money for recycling in the future. That is why the market has been asked which frameworks should apply to a supply of solar panels. Based on this input, the OPEN Foundation has made a provision for the short and long term until 2045.

Producers/importers of solar panels pay a waste management fee. Firstly, the waste management contribution finances all costs incurred to properly recycle the waste of the current year. The second component of the waste management contribution concerns the construction of the provision for the future processing of solar panels that are currently being put on the market. The provision is intended to prevent tariff shocks and to reserve money for the necessary construction of an appropriate infrastructure, namely collection, sorting and high-quality reuse of raw materials or modules.  At the moment there is still a relatively small amount of discarded solar panels, but this will increase exponentially in the future. If we do nothing, the result will be that the rate will become unstable, rise rapidly and cause major shocks. With the provision, we prevent this. The contribution will be determined by the OPEN Foundation after coordination with the industry, represented by Holland Solar.

End customer

The OPEN Foundation supports the request of the supporters (Holland Solar/ ZRN) to show the waste management contribution visibly on the invoice. The aim of making the waste management contribution visible is to safeguard the level playing field and to combat freeriding. With the visibility of the contribution, all parties in the chain know that solar panels have been paid for, and what the nationally determined amount is. New players are thus automatically notified. Moreover, it makes fraud easier to combat. Customers can check whether the payment has been made by the supplier for solar panel projects by asking the OPEN Foundation whether this supplier is affiliated with the OPEN Foundation.

Afdanken

All collection points for business solar panels can be found quickly via Drop-off points for companies – Wecycle for companies. Companies such as installation companies can also choose to have discarded solar panels (from 20 pieces) collected free of charge by one of the transporters that the OPEN Foundation has contracted for this purpose. Consumers can hand in their defective solar panels in two ways. First of all, just at the recycling center, just like all other discarded appliances. But they can also hand it in to the installer where they bought their new solar panels. This is a legal right (the so-called ‘old for new’ scheme). Their installers can then dispose of the solar panels via www.wecyclevoorbedrijven or have them collected free of charge.

As indicated, the provision is intended to realize the future infrastructure so that it is available when the large volumes become available. An important missing link was the high-quality recovery of raw materials such as silver, silicon, solar panel glass from discarded solar panels. These materials have been lost to date, but the proceeds from these materials are important to keep the waste management contribution manageable. The OPEN Foundation, in collaboration with Holland Solar, ZRN and Witteveen+Bos, therefore launched a tender document on the market in 2024 to which the market responded positively. We expect to be able to sign contracts by mid-2025 to achieve an actual recovery of raw materials from solar panels.

Level playing field

We believe it is important that all importers/producers contribute fairly to the costs of recycling. That is why we are constantly working on a level playing field. For example, based on independent research by DNE Research, the OPEN Foundation received lists of companies that presumably also have to pay. These companies have been contacted, just as they are for other producers. It is important that the active participants are not burdened by freeriders who shirk their responsibilities. At the same time, the OPEN Foundation is committed to enforcing the level playing field through, among other things, subsidy legislation.

More information?

On our platform circulairekennis.nl you will find the roadmap solar panels and other reports.