Uncovering the Lucrative Profits of Recycling Retired Photovoltaic Modules: How Can a Scrap Panel Be Transformed into Worth Over a Hundred Yuan?
As of March 13, 2025, in Henan Province, over 90% of retired photovoltaic modules consist of recyclable materials such as aluminum frames, tempered glass, silicon solar cells, back sheets, and EVA encapsulation films. Generally, the value obtained from dismantling a single solar panel ranges from several dozen yuan to over 200 yuan. Here’s a breakdown of the analysis:
Glass: The glass in photovoltaic panels makes up a significant portion, typically around 70%. The recycling price for ordinary used solar panel glass is relatively low, estimated at about 300-700 yuan per ton. For a solar panel weighing around 20 kilograms, the glass portion can yield approximately 6-14 yuan. If the glass quality is high, such as having a high light transmittance and low iron content, the recycling value can be even greater.
Aluminum Frame: The aluminum frame accounts for about 18% of the solar panel’s weight. The market price for scrap aluminum generally ranges from 14,550 to 17,637.19 yuan per ton. For a 20-kilogram solar panel, the aluminum frame weighs around 3.6 kilograms, which can be sold for about 52-63 yuan.
Silicon: Silicon makes up roughly 5% of the photovoltaic panel. Although its proportion is not particularly high, silicon is one of the most vital materials in solar panels. The technology for recovering silicon from used panels is continuously evolving, and the recovered silicon can be used to remanufacture solar panels or other semiconductor products, thus holding significant value. Through photovoltaic module recycling equipment, silicon recovery from a panel typically ranges from 10-30 yuan.
Copper and Silver: Solar panels also contain small amounts of copper and silver. Although these metals are present in limited quantities, their value is notably high. It is estimated that a scrap solar panel may contain around 10 grams of silver and about half a kilogram of copper, with a recovery value of approximately 10-30 yuan.
Thanks to the evolution of dismantling technology for photovoltaic module recycling equipment, material recovery rates exceed 99%, with over 99% of materials being reused. More than 80% of these materials can be reintegrated into the photovoltaic industry. Therefore, recycling retired photovoltaic modules is an inevitable trend. The question remains: who will seize this wave of opportunity?
