Amsterdam, October 7th – Solarplaza, the leading provider of B2B solar events, and PV CYCLE, waste management solutions experts for the solar industry, are delighted to announce the first edition of the Recycling Renewables Summit, taking place in Amsterdam on the 6th of November 2024.
The Summit marks the first time that the renewables sector will come together to discuss challenges around recycling and waste management. Manufacturers, recyclers, politicians, and legislators will collaborate during a day of learning, knowledge sharing, and inspiration as the industry works to ‘close the loop’ in renewable energy and create a truly sustainable future.
There will be speakers from a broad range of sectors, as well as panel discussions around a variety of key topics that are affecting the renewables sector.
The sessions will be split into four sections:
- The End-of-Life Journey
- Harnessing Value from Decommissioned Assets
- Reducing Emissions and Enhancing Transparency in Renewables
- Circular Economy: One Step Closer
“We are at a crossroads for the entire renewables ecosystem,” says Jan Clyncke, Managing Director, PV CYCLE and one of the event’s organizers and keynote speakers. “As the first-generation wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries start reaching their End-of-Life phase, the industry must address what to do. It is vital we manage waste responsibly if we want to maintain public trust in renewables as a clean source of energy.”
The event will allow research groups and industry experts to propose new strategies for dealing with still-functional equipment and managing waste responsibly in a sector with innovation at its heart.
“We are moving in the right direction, but we must also prepare for new technologies and commodities,” says Karsten Wambach, Deputy Managing Director at bifa Umweltinstitut GmbH, who is also on the advisory board of the event. “As the waste stream in the sector continues to grow, we must move with it, generating continued investment into high-value recycling initiatives.”
One of the main challenges in the industry is the diversity of hardware used in different areas of the renewables sector. For example, wind turbines and solar panels present very different challenges in terms of the materials used to make them and the cost models involved in recycling them.
The Summit will encourage all stakeholders in the renewables sector to look for synergies and drive efficiencies in the way they operate.
“Everybody talks about the ‘circular economy’, but that looks very different depending on what it is you are recycling,” Jan says. “In the case of solar panels, there is a great emphasis on the value of the individual components. But a panel must be in a state of good material quality for it to be recycled successfully because contaminated waste drastically affects its worth. In wind turbines, there may be less value in the products themselves, but more scope to recycle the by-products effectively and create less waste.”
There is broad agreement across the renewables sector that there needs to be greater collaboration between stakeholders, manufacturers, legislators, and - of course - consumers of renewable energy.
“This event is not just for industry professionals, but can inform the general public as well,” Karsten says. “We have a unique opportunity to come together and build new waste management systems and technologies that change the way the energy industry approaches recycling. It will be a different world, but it can be a better world.”
Click here to find out more, or to register your place at Recycling Renewables.
About Solarplaza
At Solarplaza, we make it our business to accelerate the sustainable energy transition. Firmly believing that the sun is the solution, we empower the international solar PV industry by sharing knowledge and network.
We host high-level B2B solar events in both established and emerging energy markets around the world. We maintain an online platform bursting with solar resources and industry intelligence. In addition, we tailor market entry and project development solutions through the Solarplaza Consultancy and support the sustainable electrification of less privileged communities through the Solarplaza Foundation.
About PV CYCLE
PV CYCLE AISBL is the first non-profit organization specializing in the management of waste from photovoltaic panels and other products linked to photovoltaic power systems such as Electrical and Electronic Equipment, batteries and packaging.
PV CYCLE offers companies with sustainability objectives as well as to waste holders tailor-made waste management and legal compliance services on a global scale.
We intervene at every stage in the life cycle of a photovoltaic panel:
- Our expertise, since the foundation of PV CYCLE in 2007, enables us to intervene right from the design stage, as consultants to "those placing products on the market" or to the institutions, which establish the rules governing the life cycle of photovoltaic panels
- From the moment they are placed on the market, where we help to ensure legal compliance in whatever country
- And, of course, at the end of their life, where we manage everything as from the take-back to the final waste management phase, and we guarantee recycling rates in line with Extended Producer Responsibility
