ENGIE includes solar panel recycling upfront in PPA for first time

Solarcycle

ENGIE NORTH America (ENGIE) announced that as part of an increasing approach to circularity, it will manage a new precycling provision to include the solar panel and the project componentecycling in first agreements for four projects. The innovative approach was developed in collaboration with Solarcycle.

The precycling determination includes recycling in power purchase agreements and helps developers to record the project at the start of the project. This is especially relevant for energy buyers aimed at project circularity and sustainability goals.

The agreements ensure that about a million panels of 375 MW of projects in the midwest are recycled when they reach the end of their lives, to support the full circularity of the projects. Solarcycle estimates that the company will deduce 48 million pounds of material from the landfill and will avoid approximately 33,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. In addition, all the maximum extent will all construction waste and system components will be recycled.

“We are pleased to bring this innovative approach to life. Our collaboration with Solarcycle shows the shared dedication we have for the long -term sustainability,” said Caroline Mead, SVP of Power Marketing in Engie North America.

As the demand for electricity in the US increases, domestic clean energy is essential to meet the requirements of energy capacity. This collaboration between ENGIE and Solarcycle means that the solar panel and the system components on these projects will have complete traceability to ensure that circularity goals are achieved and eventually returned to the domestic supply chain to form the next generation of clean energy materials. The obligation is made possible by the advanced tracking options of SolarCycle that guarantee each panel of the projects is recycled and that the recovered material is sent back to the supply chain.

“The precycling determination of ENGIE is a new precedent for the solar industry on the utility scale by proving that the principles of the circular economy can be achieved without complex intervention of the regulations and in a way that does not require payment of the front.

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