{"id":251361,"date":"2025-10-30T17:32:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T17:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/251361\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T17:32:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T17:32:12","slug":"huge-solar-project-commits-one-million-panels-for-end-of-life-recycling-and-reuse-before-they-even-get-to-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/251361\/","title":{"rendered":"Huge solar project commits one million panels for end-of-life recycling and reuse, before they even get to work"},"content":{"rendered":"

The nearly one million PV panels that make up the 400 megawatt Stubbo solar farm in central western New South Wales have been signed up for end-of-life recycling, despite the project not yet reaching full commercial operations.<\/p>\n

Acen Australia says the decision to \u201cembed circularity\u201d into the project from the start of its life is about setting a new standard for the large-scale solar industry while also helping to build demand signals and\u00a0a supply chain for solar recycling.<\/p>\n

The move also makes Stubbo Solar is the first large-scale project to meet independent standards designed to make circular\u00a0 management commercially viable.<\/p>\n

The project has earned an \u201cexceeds\u201d rating from Circular PV Alliance (CPVA), which recognises that it has gone beyond baseline requirements and taken a whole-of-lifecycle approach to managing materials for reuse, rather than waste.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDecarbonising Australia\u2019s energy system is a crucial step, but if we only replace the fuel, we risk repeating\u00a0 the logic of the old extractive model,\u201d Mr Pollington said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCircularity challenges us to design for longevity, resilience and renewal, and Stubbo shows what\u2019s possible\u00a0 when those principles are built in from the start.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope what we\u2019ve achieved encourages others across the industry to take the same step.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Philippines-based Acen has more than 1,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable capacity in operation and under construction in Australia, and a further 13 gigawatts (GW) in development across the National Electricity Market (NEM).<\/p>\n

Its projects include the country\u2019s biggest solar farm, New England, which will total 720 MW once its second stage is complete, as well as a big battery, as well as the contested Robbins Island wind project in Tasmania.<\/p>\n

In May, Acen was awarded 30 per cent of the capacity of the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone, securing transmission access for its Birriwa Solar, Birriwa BESS and Valley of the\u00a0Winds projects \u2013 all expected to reach financial close within the next 12 months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stubbo Solar began generating power this year and will reach full commercial operations by the end of\u00a0 November, having secured a 20-year Long Term Service Agreement in 2021 in the NSW government\u2019s first renewable energy and storage auction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CPVA co-founder and CEO Megan Jones says the technology to recycle and reuse solar panels already exists, but is waiting on the right market\u00a0infrastructure, regulations and incentives to make it commercially scalable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBy embedding circularity into a project of this size, Acen Australia is helping build the demand signals and\u00a0 supply chains that make large-scale recovery viable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you would like to join more than 26,600 others and get the latest clean energy news delivered straight to your inbox, for free, please click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n

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