Right now Solar Cycle is the only dedicated technology-based recycling company for the solar industry, and they recently closed a deal for end-of-life solar array recycling with their first utility-scale partner, Silicon Ranch, a company that operates 145 solar power facilities in the US. This move could help to bring our industry that much closer to being a circular market.

More good news re the IRA’s passage: Some of the biggest American utilities are leveraging the law’s clean energy tax credits, particularly the PTC, to bolster investments in renewables and storage. Companies including DTE, Xcel, and CMS Energy talked with analysts and investors recently about how the IRA will boost profitability by reducing the costs of new energy projects.

ITRI partnered with Taiwanese solar panel and cell manufacturer United Renewable Energy and San Fang Chemical Industry Co Ltd. to bring us a solar module that can be easily disassembled at the end of its useful life and is actually 100% recyclable. Creators estimate that the recycle value of retired PV modules could rise sharply, from about $18 million to $74 million per GW.

The IRA will increase domestic solar tracker manufacturing (though not so much with fixed-tilt). It has a provision that includes manufacturing tax credits for components found on solar trackers like torque tubes and structural fasteners produced in the US only for tracking systems used by large C&I and utility-scale deployment.

Tigo Energy has enhanced its module-level power electronics with what they call Pure Signal tech, something that affords installers more margin for error around design with large, complex C&I systems. They spoke on Solar Builder’s The Pitch about how installers can avoid cross-talk and other MLPE related issues. The video is below.